Leakage
by Potterotica
Summary: Hermione is back for her 7th year at Hogwarts, but is being constantly followed by a certain blond-haired Slytherin, both with his eyes and with his heart.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I own none of this. J.K. Rowling owns all!

Hermione was unnerved. Sitting in the Great Hall for breakfast, she couldn't help noticing that HE kept stealing glances at her. She ran her hands through her hair to make sure that the bushiness was in check. Then she subtly ran her hands over her face to make sure that there wasn't something smudged on her nose. Nothing. Not one thing out of the ordinary.

There! He did again. What did he want?

"Hermione, are you alright?" Ron asked, seeming concerned.

Hermione shook her head, as if to shake off the uneasy feeling that crept over her. "I'm fine" she responded. She squeezed his hand and smiled in reassurance before looking back at her toast. But her appetite seemed to vanish as quickly as her doubts had appeared.

Was it just her imagination, or did she just see HIM whip his head around, a look of anger upon his face?

He was having issues.

He shouldn't be thinking about HER. Again.

Things had changed alright since the Dark Lord's downfall, but for him, things weren't all THAT different.

Not so different that he could finally act upon his growing fantasy.

If only that night in Malfoy manor hadn't happened. Then he wouldn't be so obsessed with the Muggle-born. But to see her in so much pain, yet still retain so much strength caused something inside of him to crack, letting her very essence slip into his long-suffering soul.

He made eye contact before looking away again. This was wrong. She was with the Weasel King, and it seemed as though they were happy. Didn't he want her to be happy?

His head said yes, even if it meant that it wasn't with him; but his heart said something different as he watched her touch the Weasel's hand. Something in the pit of his stomach reared in protest, actually causing his face to twist into a painful mask. He looked away before he saw too much. Before she saw too much.

Hermione was still trying to get her head on straight as she, Ron, and Harry walked to Transfiguration together. She was silent, while Ron and Harry carried on about unimportant things. Hermione was still getting used to not having pivotal conversations on an almost hourly basis. For once, it seemed as if they would be able to behave like normal teenagers. With that, Hermione's thoughts drifted even further, allowing her once again to think about how HE kept looking at her during breakfast. She was still puzzled. What could he possibly want from her? To torture her further?

"Earth to Hermione." Harry sing-songed in front of her, waving his hand in before her face.

Hermione started. "Sorry guys."

Ron looked somewhat concerned. "You seem to be going off into your own world a lot lately. Not liking the one you're in right now?" He smiled shly at her, and it made her heart melt a little.

Hermione smiled. "Not at all." She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. It felt nice. Being with Ron felt…. familiar. Safe. Comforting. Something that Hermione hadn't felt for a long time.

Harry laughed. "Don't make me tell you lot to get a room."

Hermione giggled. "You won't ever have to worry about that." Ron groaned.

At that moment the Transfiguration classroom door opened, and Professor McGonagall ushered them all inside. Hermione smiled and for the second time that day, gave herself a little shake, removing the remnants of this morning's uneasiness and a certain blonde-haired Slytherin who had managed to creep into her thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I own none of this. J.K. Rowling owns all!

Draco didn't know what was wrong with him. He was literally stalking the Muggle-born, following after her wherever she went, trying to find some way of talking to her alone. Of course, he didn't know what he was going to say to her, but he just wanted to be in her proximity, wanted to breathe the same air. He felt confident in his stealth; clearly no one noticed his light footsteps. Or so he thought.

"Draco, what is wrong with you? Why do you keep following the Mudblood around like a puppy dog?" Zabini Blaise asked.

Draco came to a complete halt. They had been walking the Charms hallway, keeping a significant distance between themselves and the Hallowed Trio.

"What are you talking about?" Draco asked, feigning confusion. "I'm simply walking to class."

"Yeah, sure you are." Zabini replied, seemingly unconvinced. "Don't think that I haven't noticed your recent… attentions to the Mudblood."

Draco turned red in his anger. "Don't call her that. The word's been forbidden."

"And since when do you take heed of the rules, Malfoy?" Zabini asked, looking somewhat taken aback. "I always thought your motto was that you live above the law."

"Not anymore." Draco muttered as once again his gaze was captured by the pretty Muggle-born. "Things have changed."

Just at that moment, Hermione turned her head and caught Draco's eye. He managed to give her the tiniest hint of a smile. Hermione's brow furrowed as she turned away, indicating confusion and... maybe something more?

As Draco made his way into the Charms classroom, he noticed that Hermione went to sit at the front of the class as always. Instead of taking his usual seat at the back, he sat in the second row, diagonally behind her, so that he could sneak glances at her profile. Ron, who sat on Hermione's left side, noticed this, and wasn't particularly pleased with it. Of course, he assumed that Draco was intending on torturing them in some new way. Harry, on the other hand, who sat on Hermione's right side, who also noticed Draco's change of seating, became worried. He had noticed the looks that Draco had been shooting at Hermione, and he would protect her from all costs from the blonde-haired ferret.

After the Charms lesson, Hermione was halfway to her next class, escorted by Ron and Harry, when she realized she had left her best quill in the classroom. Muttering an excuse as to why she had to go back, Hermione dashed back towards the Charms classroom. She found the quill and was about to exit when she found the doorway suddenly blocked. Draco Malfoy stared down at her, in a very calculating and penetrative way, making Hermione feel extremely self-conscious all of a sudden. Cursing herself for doing so, Hermione blushed before she caught her breath.

"Yes, Malfoy?" She asked, trying to keep her voice cold. "May I help you?"

Draco wasn't surprised at the tone of her voice. He was surprised by the rise of color in her cheekbones, and how it seemed to make her eyes even brighter.

He tried his best at being haughty as he responded, "The only way you could help me Granger is by getting yourself out of my way. I left a book at my desk."

"Oh, well _excuse me_." Hermione replied somewhat snidely, and moved past Draco through the door. Was it her imagination or did his fingers lightly graze her wrist as she flew past? She tried not to think about it as she headed for Ancient Runes.

As if that situation wasn't strange enough, Draco kept intermittently popping up wherever Hermione went, particularly if she was alone. He always made some excuse about being in the same place, the culprit often being a forgotten object of some sort. But he would always somehow subtly touch Hermione in way that she detested, yet at the same time craved. It always sent chills running through her body. She was working hard at trying to convince herself that the only reason she was feeling this way was that for once he was being civil.

Little did she know that this was only phase one of Malfoy's grand scheme. And if she thought the change in his behavior was dramatic so far, she was in a for a big surprise.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I own none of this. J.K. Rowling owns all!

Hermione was one of the first students to arrive in Potions one day, which wasn't anything out of the ordinary. She sat at her usual table and began to unpack her notebook, quills, and ink, when she heard the loud THUMP of a bag being set down next to her. Assuming it was Ron, she didn't even turn her head.

"You're early today, Ronald. Thought I would have to drag you here." She said offhandedly.

A bored drawl answered her, "I'd rather not be compared to the Weasel if you don't mind, Granger. Ginger hair isn't exactly my style."

Hermione looked over in shock. Draco Malfoy actually had the nerve to sit next to her in class! She glanced quickly around her, making sure that this wasn't some colossal joke. If it was, she wasn't just going to sit there, waiting for the punchline.

"Why are you sitting here?" She asked bluntly.

"It's a free country Granger. I can sit wherever I please." He answered.

"Well, I'd rather you didn't sit next to me." She quipped.

"Why not? Afraid I'll distract you too much?" He asked, his eyes boring into hers with a strange intensity. "Won't be able to concentrate will you?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes at this. "Don't be ridiculous. It would take more than a greasy, blond-haired ferret to steal my attention. So just go ahead and sit there then. I don't mind in the slightest." With this she turned her eyes to the front of the class and refused to look at Draco any further. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

Draco just smiled to himself and sat down on his stool.

When Ron and Harry entered the class, they noticed where Malfoy was sitting. Unfortunately Professor Slughorn had entered at that exact moment, so no words could be exchanged, but Ron gave Hermione a "What the h-?" type of look, and Harry looked simply dumbfounded. Hermione gave them a helpless shrug, and turned her attention to the lesson.

*******************************************************************

Draco was finding it difficult to concentrate. He soon wished that he had sat at a table adjacent to Hermione's as opposed to right at it, because she was very distracting. She had this annoying yet adorable way of taking notes. Her handwriting was so tiny and perfect! At one point Draco looked over to find a perfect transcription of everything Slughorn was saying, and she was doing it without magic! No wonder she was always first in the year. Perhaps he could learn a thing or two from the Muggle-born after all.

About halfway through the lesson, Draco leaned over to her to whisper something in her ear, but was distracted by the sweet smell of her bushy hair. From this angle he was also able to admire the slender curve of her neck as her skin flowed out onto her graceful shoulders. What a work of perfection this girl was, and what an idiot Draco had been for not noticing it sooner.

"Can you help me, Granger? I'm totally lost." Draco whispered innocently into her ear.

Hermione nearly jumped out of her skin. She had been concentrating so hard on the professor that she had actually managed to forget who was sitting next to her. She looked over at him and was surprised by the somewhat pleading look in his eyes. All traces of haughtiness had vanished.

She surprised herself by asking in earnest, "What are you confused about?"

"I'm having trouble with differentiating between the Boils Removal Potion and the Sores Removal Potion. How are they different?" He asked.

"With the Boils Removal you stir counterclockwise after adding the beetle eyes, while with the Sores Removal potion you stir clockwise." She answered.

Draco gave her a smile. "Thanks," he said before leaning back over to his side of the workbench.

Hermione took a few seconds to recover. Not only had that been a friendly interaction between the two enemies, but Hermione was also caught off guard by how handsome Draco was when he smiled so genuinely. She chuckled to herself as she turned back to the front of the class. "If I had known he'd been that cute…" she thought to herself. Luckily she was distracted by the sound of the bell ringing.

She gathered up her things quickly. Her stomach was grumbling so loud she was surprised by the fact that the entire castle hadn't heard it. She looked over, accidentally of course, at Draco and found him just staring at her. And there it was again! That strange glint in his eye as if he was dying to share some burning secret with her. What was he playing at?

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked, giving him a strange look. "You look odd."

Draco blinked, as if awaking from some sort of spell. "I'm fine, Granger. Mind your own business." And with that, he grabbed his bag and swept out of the dungeon, leaving Hermione, once again a puddle of confusion.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I own none of these characters. J.K. Rowling however, does.

"Could you ease up a little, Ron? I'm getting squished against this pillar." Hermione whispered into Ron's ear, subtly pushing against his shoulders.

"Oh yeah, sorry." Ron replied. He stepped a tiny bit back, and Hermione was able to breathe once more.

"Thanks." And with that, they went back to the task at hand.

Hermione was enjoying herself. Ron's arms, which had grown more muscular over the past few months from Quidditch practice, were wrapped tightly around her. She was enjoying the feeling of tangling his hair in her fingers, and the feel of his lips moving in synchronization against hers.

They were in one of the more private corridors in the castle, as this would hardly be appropriate for the common room. A large tapestry partially blocked their little alcove from the main hallway, so Hermione could almost feel that they were alone together.

Ron's arms loosened suddenly, and he drew back to look at Hermione's face.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I thought I heard something." He whispered back.

Hermione strained her ears, but couldn't hear anything beyond Ron's heavy breathing. "I don't hear anything."

"Really? Cause it sounded like footsteps." He countered.

"Ron, if I said I didn't hear anything, then I didn't hear anything."

"Are you positive? Because maybe your hearing isn't as good as it used to be."

Now she was getting annoyed. She dropped her arms and untangled herself from Ron. "Excuse me, Ronald, but I hear just fine. Maybe you're hallucinating."

"I'm not _seeing_ anyone. Just hearing their footsteps."

"One _can_ have _auditory_ hallucinations, you know." Hermione huffed. "And who cares if there is someone coming anyway? They can't see us."

"Alright then." Ron agreed, and opened his arms, inviting Hermione back into them.

"I'm sorry." Hermione began. "But the mood has passed." And with that, she ripped back the tapestry and marched off towards Gryffindor Tower, leaving a fuming Ron in her wake.

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Draco didn't know what the scene that he had chanced upon was like before his "visit", but he couldn't deny that he was pleased with the outcome. Watching Hermione storm off down the hallway bode well for him. If she was fighting with the Weasel, clearly things weren't going as smoothly as he had thought.

He now saw Ron leave the tiny alcove that they had just occupied, and Draco stepped into the hallway. Ron froze.

"What the hell do _you_ want, Malfoy?" He asked.

"Just wondered what happened to make the little missus stomp off in such a huff." Draco replied.

"None of your damn business."

"Ooh, touchy are we?" Draco mocked. "Is it safe to say that there's trouble in paradise?"

"Like I said, Malfoy, it's none of your damn business. So go back to your own common room and your pug-faced girlfriend Pansy."

Draco smirked. "Pansy is not my girlfriend. In truth, she never was."

Ron blinked at him incredulously. "I'm sorry, but do you actually think that I care about your love life?" Ron asked.

Draco inwardly cringed. He hadn't meant to say that out loud. He quickly recovered enough to say "I just know that you've had your eye on Pansy for years now, so I'm giving you the all-clear. Move in at your own risk."

And with that said, Malfoy pivoted and walked off while once again Ron was left fuming.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I own none of this. J.K. Rowling owns all!!

Hermione was grateful that it was Saturday. She relished the thought of an afternoon free of homework and, she had to admit it, free of both Ron and Harry. They were both at a double Quidditch practice, along with Ginny, leaving Hermione quite alone to be with her thoughts, and more importantly, a good book.

Although it was the second week of October, it was still rather warm out, so Hermione was headed down to her favorite spot out on the grounds. A lovely old tree stood facing the lake, and Hermione was anxious to get to it.

Hermione's thoughts drifted as she walked. Ron and her had patched things up after their little fight from the other day, but Hermione couldn't help but think about the fact that these little spats were happening at more frequent intervals than before, and it worried her. It also worried her that she was aware of the fact that she herself often instigated these little tiffs, and she had no idea what that meant.

She rounded a corner, headed for the stairs, when she almost ran headfirst into Luna Lovegood.

"Oh! I'm sorry Luna. I almost ran you over." Hermione apologized.

Luna simply blinked up at Hermione, as if she hadn't heard a word she had just said. "Hello Hermione. It is nice to see you again."

"You too, Luna. You look well." Hermione offered.

"Why thank you." She replied.

Hermione noticed the odd pair of glasses perched atop Luna's head. Recognizing them she said, "Is there a special edition of the Quibbler out today?"

Luna smiled. "Why yes. Daddy and I are very excited about it. It's on the double-headed Newmander!"

"I'm sorry, the what?"

"The double-headed Newmander! And with these glasses, I am able to read about their secret mating habits. It's all very exciting." Luna said in her singsong voice.

"It certainly sounds exciting." Hermione said, trying to make her voice convincing.

"Well, if you're interested, I can ask Daddy to send you a copy."

"Oh thank you, Luna. That would be lovely." Hermione said, touched by her offer.

"No problem. I'll send the owl right now." Luna started to skip down the hallway past Hermione. "I'll see you later!"

"Bye!" Hermione called, at the same time wondering what on earth she was going to do with an issue of The Quibbler. "Oh, who cares?" She said to herself as she continued outside to the grounds.

*******************************************************

Hermione had been sitting underneath the tree for about an hour when she got the feeling that she was being watched. She tried to ignore it and went back to her book, but after a few more minutes of not absorbing a single thing she read, she finally called out, "Alright, whose there? I know you're watching."

"And what makes you think you're interesting enough to actually be worth watching?" Draco Malfoy responded.

Hermione started, and then stood up, brushing off the back of her robes with one hand. "Well, clearly YOU think that I'm interesting enough. What do you want?"

Draco casually started to stroll closer, grabbing a leaf off of the nearest branch and playing with it in his fingers. "Just wondered what the great Hermione Granger was doing on this most beautiful Saturday without the Weasel."

Hermione felt exasperated. "You know that Gryffindor has Quidditch practice today, so where the hell do you THINK he is?"

Draco eyed her intensely. "Yes, but after I saw that little spat the other day, I figured things weren't all that great in paradise."

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, you know. You and the Weasel in, what I like to call a 'loving embrace'. And then you stormed off. I'm sure you remember." Draco recalled as he let the leaf fall from between his fingertips.

"That was you?" Hermione asked. "There actually was someone there, and I accused Ron of being paranoid." She continued, more to herself than to Malfoy.

"Was THAT what it was about?" Draco asked teasingly. "I figured it had to do with something else."

Hermione couldn't help herself. "Like what?" She asked.

"Like the fact that he can't please you. And you know it."

Hermione could feel the heat rise up in her cheekbones. How dare he? The insolence of such a statement! "For your information, _Draco_, he pleases me just fine."

Draco didn't realize how much he liked the sound of his own name until it came out from between Hermione's lips. While he watched her cheekbones flood with color, he stepped even closer to her until they were only a few feet apart.

"Oh does he?" He taunted.

"Yes!" Hermione snapped indignantly, while slowly moving backwards as Draco continued moving forward. She stopped when her back hit the trunk of the old tree. Damn! She was trapped!

Draco moved until their bodies were only inches apart. He placed his arms on either side of Hermione, boxing her in, so that she couldn't escape. He looked deeply into her eyes, and was mesmerized by what he saw there; panic, shame, curiosity, and something more? He dared her with a look of his own, and when he thought he saw acquiescence he bent his head. Her breathing quickened as he lowered his face so that his nose was skimming the side of her neck as he inhaled her scent. As his face moved to the other side, she began to tremble.

"W-what are you doing?" She stammered.

Draco laughed, his hot breath tickling her flesh. "Just seeing what I'm missing." He explained as he continued his exploration.

Hermione gulped. She desperately wanted him to stop while simultaneously ached for him to continue. Then, as his lips pressed into her neck, followed by a little nip with his teeth, she couldn't help it. She whimpered.

Draco chuckled as he lifted his head, his nose and mouth running along the side of her cheekbones until his lips rested at her ear.

"Does the Weasel cause you to make that noise, Granger?" He asked. "Does he make you _moan_?"

With that statement, Hermione's wits came back to her and she shoved Draco away from her. Breathing heavy, she looked him straight in the face. "Let's get one thing straight, Malfoy. You will never mean what Ron Weasley means to me. You're half the man that he is, and nothing will never, EVER change the way I feel about him. You got that?"

Draco simply smirked in response and Hermione stomped off back to the castle. "Oh I got it," he said softly to himself. For in that instant, he had made up his mind. He was going to have Hermione Granger in ways that Ron Weasley could never imagine.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I own none of this. J.K. Rowling owns all!

And thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing! I appreciate all the comments and encouragement!

***********

Hermione's feet pounded the floor of the Gryffindor common room. Never in her life had she been so anxious to see Ron. Every time the portrait hole opened, she whipped around, hoping to see a flash of that red hair. It seemed like hours before she finally heard Ginny's voice.

"Come off it Ron." She was teasing. "We both know that you fell off your broom when you made that save."

"No! I swear!" Was Ron's reply. "It was just a bit of brilliant goal-keeping."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that, mate." Harry said.

"You too, Harry?" Ron asked, disbelievingly.

"The odds are against you. You've fallen off your broom before." Harry said.

"You can sod off, the both of you." Ron snapped.

At that, Hermione ran up to Ron, grabbed him by the arm and tugged him towards the portrait hole.

"Whoa! Slow down there! What's the rush?" Ron asked, surprised.

"I've been waiting and waiting for you to come back." Hermione responded.

"Well that's lovely, but I really need a shower." Ron replied.

"Too bad." Hermione said, literally pushing Ron with both hands through the portrait hole and into the corridor. She hopped through, grabbed Ron by the hand again and started running.

"Where are we going?" Ron asked grumpily.

"You'll see." Hermione replied.

They continued down two floors until they were jogging down the corridor where their private alcove was. Hermione flung Ron into the alcove by the arm, hurried in after him, pausing only to fling the curtain back across to hide them from view, before she was on him.

Her lips were urgent as she pressed them against his. Her's held a question, and she was praying that Ron was going to be able to answer.

He certainly seemed to be enthusiastic enough. Within the first few seconds of Hermione's "attack", his arms had wrapped themselves around Hermione, one of his hands tangling into her hair. Despite the fact that the latter hurt, Hermione still kissed him hard. She had to know that it would be better with Ron. She had to know that Ron had something that a certain someone else did not. She had to know that Ron could excite her, bring her to her knees with pleasure, overwhelm her with passion. So she kissed, opening her mouth and her soul, willing him to enter both.

All of a sudden Ron pulled back. He was a bit red in the face and his eyes were full of concern.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, searching his face.

"Funny, I was about to ask you the same question." Ron replied.

"What?"

"It's just well… this is nice and all, but it's not exactly _you_." Ron stated.

"What do you mean, it's not _me_?" Hermione asked, somewhat testily.

"I just mean, we snog a lot, but usually it's never this intense."

"That's my whole point, though."

"What is?" Ron asked.

"The fact that when we kiss, it's never like this."

"I'm not really following."

Hermione sighed. "It's just… sometimes I feel that you don't see me as someone whose… well… sexy. Someone who's worth that intensity that we've just had." With this statement, she blushed and covered her face with her hands as she sank to floor, back against the wall.

Ron crouched down. "I do think that you're sexy." He whispered.

Hermione peeked out from behind her fingers. "Really?"

"Yeah."

Hermione dropped her hands so that she was looking at Ron full in the face. "Then how about you start acting like it? I feel like we're in a rut, simply spinning our wheels. Don't you feel that way?"

Now it was Ron's turn to sigh. "Yeah, I feel that way too sometimes."

"So let's make a deal. We start acting more spontaneously, agreed?" Hermione asked.

"Agreed." Ron said. He pulled Hermione up to her feet and put his arms back around her. "So, can we start right now?" He whispered into her ear.

"Absolutely."

A/N: This may seem a bit off track with the plotline that I've laid out, but I swear, I have a plan!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I own none of this. J.K. Rowling owns all!!

A few days had passed since Hermione and Ron's little pact was made, and things were progressing along quite nicely, although it seemed to be Hermione who was making all the efforts at spontaneity. She was always the one that grabbed Ron in the hallway, or subtlety touched him under the table during class. Not that she wasn't enjoying herself! But once again, she wished that she was the one being chased, not the one doing the chasing.

Hermione was walking through the castle, down towards the Great Hall for dinner. She was alone, as Ron and Harry couldn't contain their ravenous hunger, and Ginny didn't feel well and was skipping dinner altogether. As she was walking along, someone suddenly shot out their arm, grabbed Hermione's and pulled her into a hidden stairway. The entire area was pitch black (Hermione guessed some of the Weasley's Instant Darkness powder), so she had no idea who had grabbed her. She didn't get much of a chance to ask, as whomever it was suddenly was kissing her fiercely.

At this, Hermione was assured that it was Ron, so she didn't hesitate to throw her arms around his neck and kiss him back.

She was excited to note that this kissing was very different. His lips were the ones that were urgent, moving over hers a bit roughly, nipping the edges of her lips here and there. Finally, her lips parted and he slipped his tongue into her mouth, as she slipped hers into his.

His hands were everywhere; on the small of her back, caressing her head and neck, worming their way up her blouse. Her skin felt like a five-alarm fire as everywhere he touched nerves were set alight. He backed her against the wall as he continued his exploration with both his mouth and hands, while Hermione started one of her own. She reached with one of her hands to cradle the back of his head while her other hand went up the back of his shirt. She was surprised to find that his hair didn't feel the way that it normally felt. This hair felt finer, and a little shorter. Softer too.

She also realized that Ron's waist was broader, and definitely less muscular than the one she was now touching.

Suddenly she was struck with the horrible truth. With a partially muffled shriek (as his mouth still totally covered hers), she pushed him off and stumbled back into the corridor. The sudden light was bright in her eyes, but as she wheeled around, she had no doubt who she would find there. And she was right.

Draco Malfoy stood smirking at her, as he readjusted his shirt, tucking it back into his pants where Hermione had pulled it loose. He didn't say anything, but he had a look of such smugness that Hermione felt like slapping him.

Hermione knew that she was red all over. She was embarrassed that he had managed to stir up such a reaction from her. They stood staring at one another for over a minute before finally, she broke the silence.

"I cannot believe that you just did that. Have you lost your mind?"

"No, Granger." He replied, his eyes burning into hers. "That was probably the sanest thing I've done all year."

Hermione stepped forward, back towards Draco. "You've got some nerve, Malfoy."

"How so?" He asked, also stepping forward. "I see what I want and I do anything I can to get it."

"And now, all of a sudden, you want me?" She asked, in a sort of hushed form of yelling.

"In ways you can't possibly even imagine." Draco replied, with eyes that held a lot of promise. "And I'm guessing, by the way you were kissing me back there, that you want me too."

"I kissed you like that because I THOUGHT YOU WERE RON!" She screamed at him.

Draco smirked. "Sure you did." He stepped even closer towards her. "Because the Weasel and I are built so similarly that you couldn't tell the difference right? Because our lips feel much the same to you? Because we hold you the same way, yes?"

Hermione stepped forward. "In case you didn't notice, it was pitch-black in there and I couldn't see WHO I was kissing!"

"I didn't ask about what you saw." Draco said, now stepping so close to Hermione that her face and his were only apart by about 8 inches. "I asked about what you felt."

"What I felt?" Hermione said, feeling somewhat lost for words, her eyes going blank. "What I-"

But she didn't answer as with that, Draco grabbed the back of her neck, yanked her towards him, and literally attacked her with his lips. There was nothing gentle about this kiss. Without thinking she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck while his arms encircled her waist, pressing her up against him. She could feel almost every line of that perfect body up against hers and it made her pulse pound and her breath come up short.

Draco's lips moved away from Hermione's lips and he start planting kisses all over her face and neck. When he got up to her ear, he nipped the earlobe, making Hermione whimper once again.

He chuckled; his hot breath seeming cool against her scorched skin. "I've got the feeling that you never felt this way with the Weasel, have you?"

"N-n-no, I never have." Hermione stammered back.

"He's never made you moan, has he?"

"N-n-no." she replied.

"But I could, don't you agree?"

"Oh dear god, YES!" she yelled, grabbing his face and redirecting his mouth so that it covered hers.

They continued on for several minutes, both eager to taste and explore. Hermione was just admiring the sinewy muscles of Draco's forearm, when they suddenly had to break apart.

"HERMIONE!" Ron and Harry yelled in unison.

"Oh shit."


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I own none of this. J.K. Rowling owns it all! Woot! And thanks to all who are reading and reviewing!

No one spoke for almost a full minute. And then, simultaneously the shouting began.

"It's not what it looks like!" Hermione yelled helplessly.

"I find that hard to believe!" Ron accused her.

"Actually, it's exactly what it looks like," were Draco's rational words.

"Malfoy? Seriously?" Harry asked disbelievingly.

"It was an accident, I swear!" Hermione pleaded.

"What? Like you tripped and he caught you WITH HIS LIPS! I find that hard to believe!!" Ron screamed.

"Believe what you will, but I totally meant for that to happen." Draco said quite calmly.

"You're not helping," she hissed at him.

"Malfoy? SERIOUSLY?"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Hermione shouted, causing all three boys to stop talking and look at her. "Harry, go back to the common room. Draco, stay put. Ron, come with me." At that she turned and marched back down the hall.

"You better go, mate." Harry said, giving Ron a little nudge.

"You too." Ron replied.

"Oh, get the hell out of here, both of you." Draco stated, waving his hand like he was pushing them down the hallway. "I can't stand any more of your insistent prattling."

Ron stepped towards him. "You and I now have unfinished business Malfoy." He said menacingly. "Don't think that we're not going to come to blows very soon."

"I relish the opportunity." Draco replied, clenching his fists. "Now go."

Muttering under his breath, obviously cursing Draco, Ron trailed off after Hermione, leaving Draco and Harry in the hallway.

"Don't you have someplace to be?" Draco asked.

Harry didn't answer. He just stood gazing at him, looking him over, as if he was sizing him up.

"What?" Malfoy asked, looking uncomfortable.

Harry still didn't respond. He simply turned around and walked in the opposite direction that Ron took, presumably going back to his common room. As he was about to round the corner, he paused, turning his head towards Draco and said, "I hope you know what you're doing, because if either of them get hurt, you'll answer to me. And with you, I will show no mercy."

"Nice to know that you protect your boyfriend so diligently. I'll have to watch my back." Draco replied snidely.

Harry smiled at him. "You should watch your front too. You never know what can happen when you're looking the other way." With a wink, Harry rounded the corner and Draco lost sight of him.

With nothing else to do, Draco went to the wall and sank back against it, falling to the floor. Naught else to do but sit and wait for the inevitable…

**************************************

Hermione led Ron into an empty classroom. He stormed in behind her and started pacing in front of the blackboard. Hermione decided to let him speak first, so she sat quietly on a desk and waited.

After several minutes Ron finally stopped pacing. He turned to face her and there was no trace of anger in his face. Instead, his eyes glistened with tears.

"How could you do this? And with Malfoy?" He whispered.

Hermione expected rage. She could have handled rage. But this whispered pleading tore her heart in two. She cursed herself. She had known that this was going to cause Ron pain; she just hadn't realized how much.

"I'm sorry." She whispered back. "I don't know what happened."

Ron stared at her. "Is that really all you're going to give me? 'I'm sorry'? Don't you think that I deserve more than that? Don't you think that I've EARNED MORE?"

Hermione stood up, and fighting back tears she reached for Ron, but he backed away, out of reach for her grasping fingers. "Of course you've earned more. I just can't explain it." She said.

Ron stood shaking his head. He ran his hands over his face and through his hair, as if he was trying to wake himself up from a nightmare. "You can't explain it?" he asked, more to himself than to her. "Such a bullshit answer." He mumbled.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. It's bullshit." He stated.

"How so?" Hermione asked.

"This has been going for awhile hasn't it? You've been running around with Malfoy behind my back for weeks, haven't you?!"

"Of course not!" Hermione said, desperately trying to defend herself. "Nothing happened until today! I swear it."

"As if I'm going to believe a single word that comes out of your mouth."

Hermione tried yet again to reach for him, but Ron backed away, closer to the door. "Please Ron." She pleaded. "We have to talk about this."

"How can I talk to you about this when just the sight of you makes me sick?" Ron said, looking at her with disgust. "You're not the Hermione Granger I once knew and loved anymore."

"Yes I am!" she insisted.

"No, you're not." Ron argued roughly. "Because the Hermione Granger that _I_ knew would never have let that blond-haired ferret get within 3 feet of her if she could help it. The Hermione Granger that _I_ knew had class. The Hermione Granger that _I_ knew had moral and ethical standards." He paused. "I look at you now, and all I see is a stranger."

Hermione found that she couldn't fight the tears anymore. They streamed silently down her cheeks. "Ron…" she said, trailing off.

"Piss off." Ron spat the words out, as if Hermione was some disgusting insect that was crawling up his leg. "You're no friend, or _girl_friend of mine." He started to walk towards the door, pausing just as his hand grasped the handle. He turned his head to look at her one more time. "Do me a favor, alright? Don't ever speak to me again, for as far as I'm concerned, you no longer exist." He opened the door and slammed it shut behind him.

Hermione's legs could no longer support her. She sank right down to the stone floor and sobbed, lost in her loneliness and heartbreak.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I own none of this!! J.K. Rowling owns it all!!**

Draco sighed heavily as he sat against the wall in the empty corridor. He had been sitting for about 5 minutes, and was starting to get impatient for Hermione to return.

Unable to stand it any longer, Draco rose and began to walk in the direction that Hermione and the Weasel had gone. He wasn't exactly sure where they went, so he had to keep peeking into all of the classrooms. Finally he heard a loud slam from around the corner and jogged toward it. He arrived just in time to see Ron begin to stomp angrily down the corridor.

Draco stopped moving and before he knew what he was doing, he called out to Ron. "Hey Weasel."

Ron halted and slowly turned, his face the color of a ripe tomato. "What the hell do you want Malfoy?" he asked through a clenched jaw.

"Just wondered what's got you into such a tiff." Draco explained, feigning innocence.

"Go to hell, and take that accursed witch in there with you."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me." Ron fumed. "You and the mud-blood can go to hell."

Now it was Draco's turn to get angry. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. "Don't call her that."

Ron laughed humorlessly. "Since when did the term mud-blood bother the Slytherin prince? Lost his edge, has he?"

Draco crossed his arms in front of his chest, and contemplated Ron, looking him up and down. "You know, bitterness doesn't suit you."

Ron glared at him. "Well, neither does Hermione. I expect she's sobbing in that room. You better go and comfort her, because apparently you are everything that she wants. I have nothing more to offer here." He ended, somewhat sadly. He turned to continue back down the hallway.

"I'm sorry." Draco whispered before he could stop himself.

Ron paused mid-step. "As if I give a damn. You can go to hell, both of you." He called over his back as he began to stride away.

Draco watched as he rounded the corner. He wished that he could say that he was truly sorry, but in truth, he was not. He was sorry that both Ron and Hermione were upset, but he was glad that Hermione was finally rid of the Weasel. Ron bored her while Draco brought her to the edges of excitement.

And the effects that Hermione had on Draco were no less dramatic. He never realized that he could feel this way about another person, and he was not one to get bent out of shape by a heartbroken redhead. He smiled slightly as he pushed open the door, but the smile died upon his lips as he saw that Hermione was curled into a ball laying in the middle of the stone floor, crying her heart out.

*********************

Hermione didn't think it was possible to ever feel less wretched than she did at that moment. She hadn't realized the depths of Ron's cruelty, and she hadn't prepared herself for the hurt that was caused by his words. She just wanted to lay there, alone, until the world forgot about her.

But of course, that didn't happen. In truth, she only had about a minute to herself before she heard the door open once again. She looked up, hoping that somehow Ron had come back into the room to say that he was sorry for saying such harsh things and that they could have a rational discussion about what had happened.

Instead, she met a pair of gray, concerned eyes. She didn't say anything, just looked back at the spot on the wall that she had been focusing on. She didn't want him to see how much Ron had upset her. She hated herself for wanting the comfort of his strong arms and soft voice, murmuring that it was going to be all right.

He sat on the floor behind her and carefully scooped her up into his arms, so that he was cradling her, one hand softly resting on the back of her neck. She turned her head into his sleeve, trying to stifle her sobs. He took his free hand and used the cloth from his other sleeve to dry the tears on her face. He said nothing for a long while, for which she was grateful. She couldn't talk just then.

They sat together like this until the evening light began to fade from the windows of the empty classroom. Finally, Draco broke the silence.

"It's going to be alright." He whispered.

"How is it?" Hermione asked, straightening up, so now that she was simply sitting in his lap. "I just broke Ron's heart, and I feel like mine is breaking as well. I believe that is the _opposite_ definition of 'alright'."

"You can't tell me that you don't feel even the slightest bit of relief?" Draco asked cautiously. "I mean, you can't tell me that you aren't somewhat glad to be rid of him."

Hermione's words came out harsher than she intended. "Don't ever say that." She said, standing up and staring down at Draco. "Ron has been my friend for the past 8 years. You have no idea what we have been through to get to where we are today. You have no clue of how many struggles and obstacles that we had to face in order to be together!"

Draco stood up too. "And clearly all of your hardship still wasn't enough." He argued. "That's why you're here, right now. He wasn't enough for you. You need someone who will challenge you, not someone who just follows in your wake. You need someone who forges his own path."

Hermione laughed unsmilingly. "And you think that's you, don't you? You think that you're the answer to all of my prayers!"

"Yes." Draco answered succinctly.

"Then you're an arrogant fool." She stated.

"How so?" He asked. "Because from what I can tell, you're the one whose being the fool, denying this… _thing_ between us, trying to shrug it off."

"And why would I do that?" she challenged.

"Because you're afraid of what everyone will think," he began. "You're afraid that if people knew that _you_ were with _me_, that your sodding reputation as Mrs. Goody-Goody would be permanently tarnished, and instead people might call you a hypocrite."

"Go to hell!" She yelled at him, stepping up so that she was extremely close to his face.

"You first!" He yelled back.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, when before she knew it, Hermione was kissing him with all the fire she had in her. His arms drew her close while hers encircled his neck. But she came to her senses, opened her eyes and shoved him off.

"Damn you!" She yelled before running out of the classroom, slamming the door behind her.

Draco stood there with his mouth hanging open, wondering what the hell just happened.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I own none of this, J.K. Rowling owns all.**

It wasn't surprising that Hermione had trouble sleeping that night. She was grateful that the next day was Saturday. It was much easier to avoid people if she didn't have classes.

Still, she awoke just after dawn, and instead of just lying there awaiting the inevitable, she quietly got dressed and went down to the common room. She was headed toward the portrait hole when suddenly it swung open and Harry emerged.

"Good. You're up." He said. "Follow me." And he headed back out the way he came.

Hermione was still too upset about everything to argue, so she obeyed. They walked in silence as they headed towards the Great Hall. They stopped there and grabbed some toast before Harry beckoned her once again to follow him. This time they headed right out the front doors and towards the lake.

Harry slowed down the pace and they walked together for some time nibbling their toast before Hermione finally spoke.

"This seems oddly familiar, doesn't it?" she asked hesitantly.

Harry chuckled softly. "Yes indeed, it does. Although I think this time our roles are reversed."

Hermione smiled ever so slightly. "Yeah, it seems that way." She agreed.

They walked again for a few minutes before Harry stopped and turned to face her.

"Hermione, you've given me the benefit of the doubt more times than I care to remember." He started.

She didn't say anything, so he continued, "So that's what I'm going to do now."

"You're going to do what?" She asked.

"I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt." He replied. "I know that you haven't been happy for the past couple of weeks."

Hermione was surprised. "You noticed?"

"Of course I noticed." He said. "Unlike Ron, my emotional range exceeds a teaspoon."

At that, Hermione grinned. "Are you being serious?"

Harry sighed. "Of course I am. Hermione, I love you like a sister, and I only want to see you happy." He paused. "And even if it's Draco Malfoy (I'm sorry, I just threw up in my mouth a little bit), then I'll be there to support you." He finished, not quite looking her in the eye, but resigned just the same.

"Really?" She whispered.

"Really." He said. "You're always going to be my friend, no matter what happens." He paused again. "Even if that means that I have to be nice to… well… you know who."

Hermione smiled. "Thanks for that Harry. You're a good friend, no matter what anyone else says."

"Someone's been talking shit about me?" Harry asked pretending to be offended.

Hermione grinned and gave him a big hug. "I'm serious Harry. This means a lot to me." She whispered into his ear, before letting him go.

"I know." He answered. "And it's the least I can do."

They started walking again.

"And just so you know, I apologize now for Ginny's reaction." Harry said conversationally.

"That bad?" Hermione asked.

"Oh yeah." Harry responded dramatically.

"How did she find out?"

"You can't guess?" Harry asked.

"Ron."

"Bingo."

"Brilliant. Just brilliant."

Harry sighed and looked ahead. "Speaking of brilliant" he said and pointed up back towards the castle.

Hermione followed his hand. She sighed. It appeared that Draco had managed to track her down.

Harry leaned his head towards hers. "That didn't sound like a happy sigh."

"It wasn't." Hermione responded.

"What happened? That is, if you don't mind me asking."

"Nothing." She answered, but when meeting Harry's disbelievingly eyes, she continued. "We just got into a small fight is all."

"What was the fight about?"

"It was about Draco being an arrogant fool."

"Well that's not hard to believe at all." Harry said, faking stupidity.

Hermione suddenly stopped walking and tugged on Harry's hand to stop him as well. She looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Do you think I'm being an idiot, Harry? Because if you do, then please, knock some sense into me. I feel like I'm being pulled in a million different directions. I can't sleep or eat; I have constant butterflies in my stomach. Bloody hell! What does it all mean?!"

"I think it means that you have feelings for the ferret." Harry responded.

"How do you know?" she asked.

"Because that's how I feel whenever I'm around Ginny." Harry answered, giving her a small, empathetic smile. "It's great, isn't it?"

"I wouldn't exactly phrase it like that." Hermione murmured.

"Well then trust me, Granger," Harry started throwing his arm around Hermione's shoulder and steering her back towards the castle and Draco's stationary figure, "you'll learn to love it."

As they walked, Hermione said to him, "You're quite the advice-giver Harry. Who knew you had it in you?"

"It seems odd, doesn't it?" He said. "I think that not having to worry about Voldemort has really given me some mental clarity."

At that Hermione laughed. She was still giggling when they met with Draco. He didn't say anything, just stared at her.

Harry still had his arm around her, and he gave her a squeeze. She looked at him as he asked, "You going to be alright?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." She responded.

Harry dropped his arm. "Well then, I'll be off. Slughorn's essay is beckoning." He began to walk towards the castle when he turned around. "And say, Hermione? I'll be saving you a seat at lunch. And you're going to be there. I'm not going to let you hide from this."

Hermione smiled. "No worries. I'll be there. I promise."

"Too right you will." Harry said, turning again and starting to jog towards the castle doors.

Hermione reluctantly turned her eyes toward Draco. He was still staring at her, and it made her slightly uncomfortable.

"Have a nice chat with Potter, did you?" He asked.

"I don't see how that is any concern of yours." She replied. "Unless perchance it makes you jealous."

He stepped towards her. "And what if it does?"

She stepped back. "Too damn bad."

They glared at each other for a few more seconds.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" She demanded.

He stepped towards her again. "I would think that it would be quite obvious."

Hermione groaned and shook her head. "This is wrong on so many levels."

"But that's what makes it exciting." He countered, closing the distance between the two of them and wrapping his arms around her waist.

Hermione started to squirm. "Are you crazy?" She hissed. "It's broad daylight! Anyone could see!"

"Who cares?" was Draco's response as he lowered his lips to hers. "Everyone's going to know soon enough," he breathed against her lips.

She pushed back from him. "Like hell they are."

Draco was starting to get angry. "What is your problem Granger? Why does the opinion of everyone in that damn castle matter to you so much?"

"I'm wondering why it _doesn't_ matter to you!" She yelled back. "It seems to me that you haven't the slightest care in the world, when actually, you're risking more than I am!"

"How so?"

"Oh, I don't know, Draco," she began. "Maybe the fact that your family could never accept the idea of you having any sort of feelings for a Muggle-born besides hatred and prejudice for example? Have you thought about that?"

In truth, Draco hadn't thought about it. He was so focused on the here and now that all other consequences had fled his consciousness; now they came flooding back. He dropped his arms and looked towards the lake.

"That's what I thought." Hermione murmured as she turned back towards the castle.

"Where are you going?" Draco demanded, still looking out over the lake.

"Away from here." She responded. "I'm not in the market for getting my heart stomped on because of centuries-old abhorrence and ignorance on the part of your family." She continued walking. "But if you think that there's a way of getting around something _that_ ingrained, you know where to find me."

Draco turned to call her back, but she was too far away already having run for the castle doors.

It's a funny thing: he had woken up this morning feeling lighter than he had ever felt, and now he had the sensation that a giant was resting on his shoulders. For Hermione was right. His family would never accept the fact that he wanted to be with a Muggle-born. This realization was crushing. "And just when I thought things were looking up…" he muttered softly to himself.

And with that, he looked over to the lake again and from his a mouth came a great guttural cry.

Hermione, who had reached the castle doors heard this and turned. The scream contained so much helplessness, anger, and fear that she wanted to run back to him. But she shook herself. She knew the odds were against them, and however happy he may make her feel, it wasn't going to be enough to overcome all of the obstacles that faced them now.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Once again I must reiterate the fact that I own none of this and J.K. Rowling owns it all! **

**Thanks to everyone whose reading and reviewing!**

Lunch was an awful affair.

And while it can be safely assumed that this sentiment applied to Hermione, it also applied to Draco.

Hermione kept her promise to Harry. She showed up at twelve o'clock on the nose. He arrived alone and they took their seats. Hermione sat across from him. Soon Ginny appeared and sat on Harry's right side. She didn't say anything to Hermione; she simply glared at her. As if that wasn't bad enough, Ron arrived and sat on Harry's left side. He too remained silent and glared.

It must be said that Harry tried his best to talk about the most inane things in order distract everyone, but the attempt failed. Ron only made grunting sounds and picked blindly at his food, while Ginny said nothing above what sounded like a growl.

After 7 minutes of this torture, Neville showed up and sat on Hermione's left, across from Ron.

"Hullo everyone," he greeted. "And how are we on this fine Saturday?"

"Good Neville, and you?" Harry responded.

"Doing alright, thanks." He answered. He glanced around at Ginny, Ron, and Hermione. "The rest of you look like a sorry lot, though."

"Hmm… I wonder why that is?" Ron asked sarcastically. "Maybe Hermione could fill us in?"

Neville looked expectantly at Hermione while she gave Ron her best glare.

"Trouble in paradise?" Neville asked, arching one eyebrow.

"Nope," Hermione said, giving Neville her best, albeit fake, smile. "Smooth sailing from where I sit."

"Smooth sailing my ass." Ginny muttered.

"Okay, now I'm confused." Neville stated.

Right as Hermione touched his shoulder and whispered, "Forget about it," Ron burst out with, "Sure, break my heart and then ignore it," followed by Ginny hissing, "And with MALFOY no less!"

"What?!" Neville cried. "Are you serious?!"

"Oh, she's serious, alright." Ron blurted out. "Serious enough to go absconding with precious Draco in the hallways, letting him put his hands all over her."

"Ronald…" Hermione threatened.

"Don't 'Ronald' me." He hissed. "You are NOT my mother. At this point you are not even my friend."

"Then why are you sitting here?" Hermione asked.

"Why are YOU?" Ron countered.

"Harry invited me."

"WHAT?" Ron bellowed, standing up and glaring down at Harry, who at that moment seemed very interested in his peas. "YOU INVITED THIS TWO-TIMING WENCH TO SIT HERE?! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?!"

Hermione stood up to. "Don't yell at Harry! It was my choice to accept the invitation, so yell at me, not him!"

"Oh, I'll get to you in a minute," Ron said while he pointed menacingly. "But first I want to have a few words with Potter."

Now it was Harry's turn to stand up. "Say what?"

"I've been your friend for 8 years and this is how you repay me? By betraying my trust and turning your back? After all of those times when I've had yours?" Ron accused.

Harry laughed disbelievingly. "Have you lost your mind? Need I remind you of all of those times when YOU turned your back on ME? Because I can certainly give you a rundown." When Ron didn't respond, Harry continued. "Hermione and I have been through difficult times together, _without_ you. I'm not going to break that bond because you and she are having problems. That is entirely your business and does not concern me."

"Doesn't concern you?" Ron asked, his voice raising an octave while Ginny looked murderous. "It doesn't concern you that SHE'S BEEN SNOGGING YOUR MORTAL ENEMY?"

"Technically speaking, my mortal enemy is already dead." Harry argued. "I killed him, remember? I think you were there."

Just as Ron opened his mouth for a retort, Hermione put up her hands and yelled, "STOP!"

They both looked at her, not to mention everyone who was in the Great Hall. The argument hadn't exactly been private and even Professor McGonagall was sitting with her spoon halfway to her mouth, soup dripping back down into her bowl.

Hermione took a deep breath. "While this is neither the time nor the place for this conversation," she began, "everyone just needs to calm down." She turned to Ron. "Harry's right, you know. This doesn't concern him, OR anybody else," she said as she gave Ginny a pointed look. "I know it's too early to hope for this, but I was hoping that you and I could talk." Ron opened his mouth but Hermione cut him off. "A rational talk, just the two of us. You know, where I also contribute to the conversation?"

"Yeah right." Ginny muttered under breath, causing Harry to clasp her shoulder.

"Excuse me, Ginny?" Hermione asked. "Is there something you want to add here?"

Now Ginny stood up. "There's plenty I want to add, but mostly I just want to ask you one question."

"And what's that?"

"Is it worth it?" Ginny asked.

"Is what worth it?" Hermione countered, pretending she didn't understand the question.

"I'm asking you if being with _Malfoy_," whispering as she said the word so that only Hermione, Ron, and Harry could hear, "is worth all of this pain? Is it worth breaking my brother's heart? Is it worth alienating your friends? Betraying their trust?" She folded her arms across her chest and waited for Hermione's answer. The entire Great Hall was waiting for her answer, including one very interested party over at the Slytherin table.

"I… I…" Hermione stammered.

"Well? Out with it!" Ginny demanded.

Hermione looked at her with pleading eyes. Over Ginny's shoulder she could see that Draco had stood up as well, an indescribable look etched upon his face. They were separated by more than just their House tables, but for the moment, it felt like they were the only two people in the entire world.

"I'm hoping that it will be." Hermione said, more to Draco than to anybody else.

*******************************************

Draco couldn't keep his eyes off the Gryffindor table since walking into the Great Hall. He had noticed Hermione straight away; she was sitting across from Potter. He was glad, for even though Draco wasn't Potter's biggest fan, he didn't want Hermione to be abandoned by all of her friends simply because of him.

However, he was not so pleased when he saw both the Weasel and Ginny sit on either side of Harry. Hermione looked quite uncomfortable and it was no wonder. She looked as if she was being put on trial.

"Draco, are you alright?" Pansy asked him.

"Fine." He snapped back.

"It's just that Gryffindor table seems to be attracting quite a lot of your attention today. Thinking of joining the blood traitors?" she continued.

Draco looked at her in angry wonder. "Don't you realize that none of that shit matters anymore? We're all just people trying to make our ways the best we can in this world."

"What the hell are you talking about, Malfoy?" asked Blaise, who was eavesdropping. "You've always been the one that preaches about pure-blood status, for crying out loud! Do I smell hypocrisy?" He sniffed the air for dramatic effect.

"What you smell is a paradigm shift." Draco answered. "And if you were wise you would all get on the bandwagon."

"Or else what?" Pansy asked. "You're going to hurt us?"

"No," Draco began, "but you'll live a life of bitterness and regret. That, I can guarantee."

Neither Pansy nor Blaise responded to this statement, because it was at that moment that Ron Weasley exploded.

Draco's thoughts and eyes immediately darted back to Hermione. He only half-listened to Ron's words, but they seemed to focus mainly on Potter. He was glad that Hermione was being spared but he predicted that she wouldn't let Ron attack Harry for that long.

Draco was right, of course. All too soon Hermione had jumped up to put a stop to it. Draco was enraptured by her words, and he found that he was actually holding his breath. He didn't realize that he had stood up until he heard Pansy whisper to Blaise, "What the hell is he doing?"

But he didn't care. All he wanted was to hear Hermione answer the question that Ginny had just asked her. They locked eyes and Draco hoped against hope that Hermione would say something in his favor. He remembered what she had said that morning, about them not being able to be together because of his family, but he hadn't lost all faith. Not yet anyway.

"I'm hoping that it will be." She said, none too loudly, but Draco caught every word just the same. He watched when following this statement, Hermione calmly walked out of the Great Hall.

Draco slowly lowered himself back onto the Slytherin bench. He was finding it difficult not to dash out of the hall and find Hermione, but he knew better. Her statement had given him hope, but he knew that the problems they acknowledged this morning were still there.

"Clearly things aren't going so well for the Mudblood and Weasel." Pansy said snidely. "I wonder who she cheated on him with?"

"A Hufflepuff? Ernie, perhaps?" Blaise suggested.

"Is Ernie Potter's enemy? I thought they were quite friendly." Pansy asked.

At the same time, Draco scoffed, "That arrogant wimp? Please. Hermione wouldn't be caught dead with him."

"Hermione?" Blaise asked, arching his eyebrows in disbelief. "Since when do we call the Mudblood by her first name?"

Inwardly Draco slapped himself. He was showing his hand too quickly. Blaise and Pansy were smarter than people gave them credit for and would soon figure things out. Potter only had few mortal enemies left, and it was a fairly safe bet to think that he was one of them. He attempted to distract them by saying, "Since I no longer refer to people by derogatory nicknames."

Pansy and Blaise both stared at him with their mouths open. Suddenly Pansy put her hand on Draco's forehead. "Are you sick?" She asked. "Maybe you should go to the hospital wing."

Blaise nodded in agreement. "You certainly don't seem to be yourself lately, Draco. Maybe there's a personality-restoring potion that you could take." He joked.

Using any excuse to get out there and glad that his distraction worked, Draco stood up. "Maybe you're right. I'll go there now."

"What?" Blaise called after him, laughing. "We were just kidding!"

But Draco was already out the doors of the Great Hall, trying to decide which way to go. He quickly went to the front doors of the castle and scanned the grounds, but saw no sign of her.

Draco headed to the library, since that seemed to be the next logical place for her to be. But as he entered and began running down the rows of books (earning a scolding from Madam Pince), he saw that the bushy-haired Muggle-born was not among the students there.

Since he couldn't very well go into her common room, he thought that maybe he would try one more place. As he jogged towards it, he hoped with all of his heart that she would be there. He smiled in relief as he reached his destination and found a door there. He slowly opened it to find the Room of Requirement already occupied by the exact student that Draco had been searching for…


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I own none of this, as usual, and J.K. Rowling owns it all!! **

**Hope everyone enjoys the following chapter! Sorry it took longer than usual to get up...  
**

Draco pushed open the door to the Room of Requirement to find Hermione sitting in what looked to be a small but cozy living room. She was sitting on one of the two couches in the room, staring into the roaring fire against the back wall. She turned her head in surprise when the door opened.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I came to find you." He said, quietly shutting the door behind him.

"Yeah, but how did you get in?"

"Oh," Draco began, "I think it's because all I could think while I was walking around was how I wanted to find you. Think that's it?"

"Hmmm…" Hermione said, while Draco took a seat on the couch opposite her. "I wonder if you were looking for someone else, would they show up in here as well?"

"I'm guessing that it doesn't work like that."

"You're right." Hermione replied, somewhat sadly, turning her back towards the fireplace.

Draco couldn't stop himself from asking the next question. The haunted look in Hermione's eyes spurred him on. "Are you looking for someone?"

"What?" Hermione tore her gaze away from the fire. "Oh, I mean… I wouldn't mind finding my parents."

"Where are they?"

"The last time I knew, they were in Australia."

"What do you mean, 'the last time you knew'?" Draco asked. "Haven't you seen them recently?"

Hermione sighed. "No."

It seemed that she didn't want to talk about the subject, but Draco was too curious, so he kept pushing her.

"What happened?" He asked.

Hermione took a deep breath. "Before Harry, Ron, and I went out on our 'mission' so to speak, I took certain precautions for my parents."

"What precautions?"

"Well, I Confounded them, sending them to Australia. I made them forget who I was."

"Are you serious?" Draco asked, in shock.

"Yes." Hermione answered. "Anyway, at the beginning of this summer the three of us went to Australia to find them, un-Confound them, and bring them back here to England."

"I'm thinking that didn't go so well."

Hermione smiled faintly. "You're right in that assumption. I had sent them to northern Australia to one of the smaller, cattle-ranching communities. I figured that would be one of the last places a Death Eater would look for them. Well, you can guess that we were very surprised to arrive in the town and find that my parents had vanished, almost without a trace."

Draco got up and moved to sit next to Hermione on the other couch. "I'm really sorry." He reached over tentatively and took her hand in his own, stroking the back of it with his free hand. "Was there any indication of where they went?"

"Just one." Hermione said. "One of the locals there told us that he had seen my parents a few months back, and that they had one day packed up their car and left, driving east. That was as much as we got."

"Did you try and go after them?" He asked.

"Yes." Hermione sighed again. "I think we Apparated to almost every town in the northern half of Australia, and still, there was absolutely no clue to where they had gone."

Draco gulped. "What do you think happened?"

"I'm not sure." Hermione said. "My best guess is that something went wrong with the Confundus charm and it backfired somehow."

She was quiet for a minute. "I just miss them." She whispered softly. "And I blame myself."

"It's not your fault." Draco argued. "Sometimes these things just happen. Magic isn't exactly a precise art. And everyone's brains are different."

"Yeah, I know." Hermione agreed quietly. "But that still doesn't make me feel any less awful."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I wish that I could do that to _my_ father." Draco offered. "If there ever was a man who deserved to be Confounded, it's Lucius Malfoy."

This made Hermione giggle somewhat. "Be serious!" She teased, swatting his arm.

"Oh I am, believe me."

Hermione sighed again and looked down at their hands. As if she suddenly came to her senses she said, "Speaking of your father," as she gently removed her hand from his grasp, "maybe it's best that we aren't seen together."

"Do you see anyone here?" Draco asked, gesturing around him.

"You know what I mean."

"No, actually I don't." Draco was getting upset. He had been enjoying the past few minutes. The intimacy they were sharing was beyond anything that he had ever experienced, and he was angry that she was trying to cut it off at the head.

"We still have the same problems that we had this morning." Hermione stated. "Unless you don't think your family's opinion is important?"

"I don't think my father's opinion is important." Draco countered.

"I didn't just say your father though, did I?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Why are you so afraid of what they'll think?" He asked.

Hermione gave him a small smile. "I'm not." She answered. "I'm afraid of the influence that they have over you."

Draco felt the blood rush up to his head in his sudden anger. "What do you mean, 'the influence'?" He asked roughly.

Hermione looked at him pointedly. "As if you don't know. You've spent your whole life under their influence." Draco was about to open his mouth to say something, but Hermione cut him off. "Oh sure, you've had your little rebellions, but when it comes down to it, the apple hasn't fallen that far from the tree."

Draco stood up, fuming. "How dare you say that as I sit here, and HOLD YOUR HAND!"

Hermione remained calm. "I'm not saying that you're not… rolling away now, but you've still got a long way to go."

Draco moved so that he was now looming over her. "So I haven't come very far, is that what you think?"

Now it was Hermione's turn to stand up. "I'm not saying that! I'm saying what I should say to protect myself!"

"What are you talking about?" Draco asked throwing his hands up in exasperation.

"Has it even occurred to you that I may get more hurt than you in all of this? Or are you too self-centered to notice?"

"Well… yes." He mumbled in response.

"Don't you think it would be wiser for me NOT to spend time with you when in the end, it may all be pointless? Why should I emotionally invest when it'll probably end up exploding in my face? Why?" She demanded.

Draco stood there for a moment thinking. When he finally came up with the answer, he practically shouted, "Because you can't think that it will all end badly!"

"To be honest, I don't see how it will end any other way." Hermione said. "All odds are against us."

"To hell with the odds," Draco said, moving towards Hermione and clutching her hands with his own. "Since when did you or I care about such mundane things?"

For the second time during their brief meeting Hermione withdrew her hands from Draco's grasp. "Since the Dark Lord fell, and for once we can actually care about mundane, little things."

Draco was frustrated. "That's not an answer, just an excuse."

"Maybe so, but that's all you're going to get from me right now." Hermione turned away from him and walked towards the door. With her hand on the handle she turned to him again. "And what do you want me for anyway? I'm broken." And before he could come up with a response to that, she had opened the door and walked out.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I own none of this, as usual. And J.K. Rowling owns it all (as usual).**

A week passed, and nothing changed. Hermione went about her daily business, classes, studying, eating, and sleeping on auto-pilot. She was simply going through the motions.

Things hadn't changed with Ron. While she ate every meal with Harry, so still did Ronald, and things were quite uncomfortable. She tried her best to make idle chit-chat with Harry, talking about schoolwork or *gulp* Quidditch, in hopes that Ron would take part in the conversation, but it never worked.

The truth was she felt horrible about how things had ended with Ron. She tossed and turned every night trying to think of ways to patch things up. But everything she came up with sounded trite and meaningless.

However, things were looking up with Ginny. Hermione suspected that Harry had a lot to do with that to which she was grateful. Although far from happy about it, Ginny at least made the effort to converse with Hermione at mealtimes, and by the following Friday, had even walked with Hermione down the hall towards lunch.

As for Draco… well, she was trying her best to ignore him. This turned out to be easier than she thought, for he was ignoring her just as thoroughly. While she put on a brave face, the fact that Draco wasn't giving her the time of day really upset her, as much as she hated to admit it. Harry could see that it was hurting her, so it worried him, while Ron was ecstatic about it. Harry addressed the issue on Friday at dinner.

"Hermione, are you alright?" He asked. "You seem a bit upset."

"I'm fine," she responded in a higher pitch voice than normal. "What makes you say I'm upset?"

"The fact that you haven't talked to Drac-y-poo all week, maybe?" Ron mocked cruelly.

Hermione's cheeks flushed with color and she stared down at her plate. Harry took that to mean the conversation was over.

It didn't help that the nightmares had started returning. She often awoke in the middle of the night covered in sweat, her mouth open in a silent scream.

***********************

Draco was a mess. Yes, he had been ignoring Hermione all week, but that didn't mean that she wasn't constantly plaguing his thoughts. He couldn't get the image of Hermione, downtrodden, with a look of defeat in her eyes, out of his head.

***********************

The following Sunday Hermione was lounging by her favorite tree on the grounds. Harry was off with Ginny somewhere, and since Ron still wasn't speaking to her, that left her with few other options. She had even spent some time in the greenhouses with Neville who had been commissioned by Professor Sprout to look after some new and exotic plants, but once the plant tried to strangle her, she made a quick exit.

She was leaning her head back against the tree with her eyes closed. It was probably going to be one of the last warm days of the season, so she was glad she wasn't bogged down with homework. She was too preoccupied to hear his approach.

"You need to tell me something." Draco demanded.

"Oh, nice to see you too Draco." Hermione responded, her sweetness quite fake.

Draco stood, fidgeting and tapping his foot impatiently.

"You need to tell me why you think you're broken." He demanded again.

"I don't need to tell you anything." Hermione snapped.

Draco threw his hands up in exasperation. "For Merlin's sake, Hermione!" He yelled. "Can you, for two seconds, stop?"

"Stop what?"

"THIS!" Draco gestured around him. "Stop pretending that there isn't something going on here. Stop the bitchiness. Stop the defensiveness. I mean, take your pick!"

Hermione sighed. "I'm sorry." She said grouchily. "It's just weird being all nice to you. I'm not quite sure how to handle it when you're not being an arrogant jerk."

Draco growled at that last comment. "Well, maybe you could pretend that I was Potter or the Weasel. That may help." He suggested.

When Hermione didn't respond, he continued, "So tell me, why do you think you're broken? And besides the whole parental issue thing you've got going on."

"That's a nice way of putting it there, Draco. I appreciate the sensitivity." She answered.

"Hey, what did I say about the negativity?" Draco teased.

"Yeah, yeah." Hermione agreed begrudgingly. "I'm broken because everything that's happened in the past year is finally catching up with me."

Draco sat beside her on the ground by the tree. "How do you mean?" He asked gently.

"How much do you know about what Harry, Ron and I did last year?"

"Not an awful lot. Only that you were looking for Horcruxes and that you ended up at the Manor last spring."

"Well, horrible things happened. Before, during, and after our lovely visit to your house. And... at the time, I didn't think anything of it. It was all just a part of trying to defeat Voldemort, so we pushed past it all to think of the end goal. The greater good, as Dumbledore would put it."

Draco nodded, silently encouraging her to go on.

"I'd rather not go into the details of it all, if you don't mind." Hermione said. "It's a bit intense, and frankly, you're no therapist. No offense."

"Hey none taken." Draco said, raising his hands in concession.

"But last July, I started having these really vivid nightmares, replaying all of the worst parts of last year."

"Do they all end the way they did in real life?" Draco asked.

"Sometimes," Hermione began, "but sometimes they end differently, and they always end worse. It's very frustrating, not to mention frightening."

"But they're just dreams." Draco argued gently. "Surely they can't be that bad…"

Hermione looked at him sharply. "Excuse me, Draco, but when was the last time that you experienced the Cruciatus curse in your dreams only to wake up still feeling it's effects? When was the last time you witnessed a snake trying to eat your best friend knowing that the Dark Lord was only seconds away and wake in a panic?"

"Point taken." Draco mumbled. They sat in silence for a minute before Draco spoke again.

"Have you told anyone about these dreams?" He asked.

"I've tried to talk to Harry and Ron about them, but I don't think they understand. Harry's been through so much I don't think that anything fazes him anymore. And as for Ron…" she trailed off, leaving Draco to fill in the blanks.

She surprised him by continuing. "When we finally got back to school, the nightmares went away for awhile, what with homework, classes, and boyfriends," she paused, giving him a small smile, "but they've been coming back. I even went to Madam Pomfrey, who sometimes gives me a potion for dreamless sleep. Those are the best nights." She ended wistfully.

"What do you think it all means?" Draco mused.

"Hell if I know." Hermione answered. "Probably something to do with unresolved shock. Post-traumatic stress maybe?" She sighed.

"Well, I'm sorry." Draco said lamely, as he couldn't think of anything else to say. "But, just so you know, if you ever do need to talk, you could always talk to me."

Hermione looked at him quizzically. "Really?" She thought for a moment. "That's really very sweet of you."

Draco surprised even himself by feeling a burn in his cheeks. "It's been known to happen."

"So are you going to tell me something personal now? Or am I the only one that has to share?" Hermione teased.

"You actually _want_ to know?" Draco asked, astonished.

"Of course." Hermione said. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because it's not that interesting."

"Maybe it's not interesting to you," Hermione reasoned, "but I'll bet it's _very_ interesting for me."

"Some other time, perhaps." Draco responded quietly.

Hermione tutted. "Figures," she mumbled under her breath.

Draco sighed and turned to her, reaching for her face. He cupped it gently with both of his hands, his fingers tracing the outlines of her cheekbones as he forced her to look into his eyes. The look in her eyes was indescribable; scared, intrigued, caring. He never wanted to look away.

"I promise." He said simply.

"You promise what?" She whispered back.

"I promise that one day I will talk your ear off about all of my issues. And you'll be so sick of hearing about all of my personal dilemmas that you'll probably not want to see me for a week. Deal?"

Hermione giggled then. "Deal."

"Good to hear," he whispered, leaning his head towards hers so that his breath tickled her lips. He kissed her so gently, with so much tenderness that it took her breath away. Then he increased the pressure as her arms went to encircle his neck, his hands still gently cradling her face.

Hermione didn't know how long they sat like that. All she knew was that she never wanted to move away and didn't care who saw her or what anyone thought. Who knew that someone could make her feel this way?

In the back of her mind, she knew that the struggles they were going to face if they wanted to be together would be great. But at that moment, she could've cared less. _We'll just cross that bridge when we come to it_, she thought as Draco leaned into her, angling her so that instead of her back against the tree, it was against the soft grass. His weight wasn't heavy, but warm on top of her body. Tentatively, his hands began an exploration of her soft curves hidden beneath her school robes. His lips left hers, leaving a trail of fire across her cheekbones, up to her ears, and down the side of her neck. One of her hands held the back of his head, her fingers twisted in his hair while the other moved slowly down his back.

"We've really got to stop meeting like this." Harry interrupted.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I own none of this as per usual, and J.K. Rowling owns everything!!**

"HARRY!" Hermione shrieked, shoving Draco off of her and scrambling to her feet.

"Thanks a lot, Potter." Draco grumbled as he too stood up.

Harry smiled, quite pleased with himself. "I was just looking for Hermione. Seeing if she wanted dinner." He suggested innocently. "Unless there's something else she'd like tocough~ eat." He grinned devilishly.

Hermione felt the following blush not just on her face, but all over her entire body. This didn't go unnoticed by Draco, who began to wonder just how far that blush spread.

Face still red, Hermione ran her hands over her face and then smoothed her robes. She responded with dignity, "Yes, Harry, that would be lovely. I'll be up in just a minute."

"You won't be the only whose 'up'." Harry mumbled under his breath as he turned and walked back towards the castle. Hermione's breath hitched in her throat as she caught that last sentence and the sound of Harry's fading laughter. She shot a glance at Draco but he appeared oblivious to Harry's crude comment.

"Who knew Potter was so clever with the sexual innuendos?" Draco asked, somewhat astonished and NOT so oblivious as to miss Harry's comment. "Maybe him and the Weasley girl have gone farther than I though." He said this more to himself than to Hermione, but she heard him nonetheless. She smacked him on the arm.

"Oh please don't put that image in my head! Harry's like my brother!"

Draco was laughing as he pulled Hermione to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close as he whispered, "Then I guess I'm lucky that you don't think of _me_ as your brother," into her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

This time it was Hermione who initiated the meeting of their lips. She strained herself closer, not wanting even a centimeter of space between them. Draco was more than happy to comply.

Hermione was also the one who broke it off just as suddenly. She looked Draco in the eye and asked, "And why exactly are you thinking about how 'far' Harry and Ginny have gone anyway? Creepy much?"

Draco answered her in a voice that resembled his usual bored drawl. "You'd be surprised how bored I get during class lately. Things come up, what can I say?"

Hermione snorted. "You're funny."

"You can't tell me that you haven't thought about it…" Draco trailed off suggestively.

"Not them!" Hermione squeaked.

Draco was pleased. "Ha! So you've thought about another couple perhaps?"

Hermione muttered something unintelligible.

"I'm sorry, I missed that." Draco said, smirking.

"Maybe I've thought about…" She began.

"Yes…" Draco encouraged.

"Oh alright!" Hermione gave up. "I've given a little thought to the idea of you and me. Together. In that… way." She blushed.

Draco drew her close again. "That makes two of us," he whispered. "The question is, what are we going to do about it?"

Hermione pretended to think about this as she encircled her arms around Draco's neck. "Hmmm… I really don't know."

"Well I have a few ideas," Draco breathed against Hermione's lips. They didn't talk for a minute as their lips were otherwise engaged. They finally broke apart, both of them breathing a little heavier than normal.

"Harry's probably wondering where I am," Hermione said gently.

"Yeah, you're right. We should probably go in," Draco acquiesced.

They both dropped their arms, but Draco's kept Hermione's hand in his. She was a little shocked when he didn't let go as they started to walk towards the castle.

"What are you doing?" She asked a little breathlessly.

"I'm walking you to dinner," he answered simply.

"But people are going to see…" Hermione argued.

"That's the point." Draco countered. "I'm tired of hiding this Hermione. People are going to have to get used to us being together. And I mean, _everyone_."

Hermione felt a surge of something… hope? Panic? "Are you referring to people outside of the school?" She asked.

"Yes I am." Draco said with a confidence that he didn't quite feel in the pit of his stomach. "Its time that we start taking control of our own lives."

They reached the castle doors. Hermione could hear students inside filing into the Great Hall for dinner. They looked at each other, and Draco squeezed her hand.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Now or never," she replied.

With that, Draco pulled open the door to the castle with one hand, keeping a firm hold on Hermione with the other. Together, they walked slowly into the entrance hall.

To say that people were shocked when Draco and Hermione walked into the Great Hall holding hands would be an understatement.

As Draco walked Hermione to her place at the Gryffindor table, she could've sworn that she could hear a pin drop. Everyone's eyes were on them and Draco and Hermione knew it. She could feel the sweat starting to drip down her back as the blush spread over her entire body. Draco was walking quite rigidly, but save for that, he seemed unaffected.

Before they got to the table, Hermione chanced a glance up at the head table and caught the eye of Professor McGonagall, whose eyebrows were raised up so high that they disappeared under the brim of her hat. Hermione gave her a small shrug, and McGonagall gave her a small, sympathetic smile, as if she was sending Hermione a message saying, _You're in for it, aren't you?_

They finally reached Harry who seemed to be the only one who was acting normally. He gave Hermione a smile and motioned to the seat across from him. Draco finally released Hermione's hand, and to everyone's surprise, including her own, gave her a small yet intimate kiss on the cheek, his hand sliding to the small of her back, and then whispered in her ear, "That wasn't so bad was it?" He leaned back to look into her eyes.

Hermione gave him a pleading look and says a sarcastic, "Sure it wasn't." Draco laughed once then headed back over to the Slytherin table. Hermione sat down across from Harry and started loading her plate with food that she knows she will never finish.

Harry stared at her, so she just asked, "How was your day?" in a voice about 20 octaves above her normal one.

Harry snorted, started chuckling, then guffawing, and pretty soon he was laughing so hard that he could barely hold himself upright. Everyone at the Gryffindor table was still staring at Hermione, but their attention was drawn to Harry as he continued his insane laughing fit.

"What's wrong with you?" Hermione hissed, frantically looking up and down the table. She was met with stares, both confused and accusatory. The stares weren't helping with her nerves, so she went back to looking at Harry.

And then, something happened. Hermione didn't realize it at first, but then she started giggling. And then suddenly, she was laughing, too. Soon she couldn't remain upright either and she was laughing even harder than Harry. Tears streamed down both of their faces as they struggled to regain control of themselves.

"Oh shit!" Harry laughed, wiping the tears from his face with the sleeve of his robes. "I haven't laughed like that in forever."

Hermione also wiped away the tears. "Me neither."

Harry coughed, still chuckling somewhat. He glanced up and down the table, and around the hall. Many people were still staring at Hermione, but they also shot him curious glances, and Harry heard the whispers quite clearly.

"Alright you lot," Harry said, quite loudly and to no one in particular. "Stop staring at the girl, will you? What's going on is none of your business, and if you think otherwise, then that's your mistake, and it'll be a bloody costly one. Understand?"

Harry returned his attention back to Hermione and gave her a big smile. Hermione reciprocated, and said, "Thanks."

"No problem." Harry responded. "Trust me; I know what it's like for people to stare. Very annoying."

They were silent for a moment. Hermione was glad that it was just the two of them sitting there. But still, she wondered...

"Where are Ron and Ginny?" She asked.

"Ginny already ate, and I think Ron's finishing up an essay in the library." Harry answered. "He'll come down when he's done."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief.

Harry caught it. "Glad that Ron didn't have to see you enter with Malfoy?" He asked, as his eyebrows rose.

"Not to put too fine a point on it, but yes."

"So, since when did you decide to go public?" Harry wondered.

"Since about 20 minutes ago." Hermione responded. "I didn't really have that much of a choice."

Harry made a sound of empathy. "What about Draco's family?"

"Apparently he's going to be telling them soon."

"Really?"

"Yes, really." Hermione confirmed.

"What do you think is going to happen?"

"I'll probably wake up with Lucius Malfoy hovering menacingly over my bed. At least I think so. Draco sees things differently."

Harry was silent for a moment. Finally he stated, "This is weird."

"What is?" Hermione asked, puzzled.

"The fact that we're talking about Draco Malfoy in a civilized manner."

Hermione laughed once. "A lot seems to be weird of late." She began playing with the peas on her plate, pushing them around as she stared down.

"You can say that again." Harry said quietly, making Hermione look up. As she met his eye, Harry jerked his head to Hermione's right, making her turn. She saw Ron walking slowly up the center aisle.

"Oh boy." Hermione groaned. "You think he's heard yet?"

"About you and Malfoy?" Harry paused, mulling it over. "Are Blast-Ended Skrewts repulsive?"

Hermione groaned again as Ron reached her and Harry. She looked up at him, dreading what was inevitably going to come out his mouth.

"I just heard the most interesting thing in the Great Hall…" he began, causing Hermione to sink lower on the bench.

"Oh shit," muttered Harry.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I own none of this as per usual, and J.K. Rowling owns everything!!**

**And I apologize that this took forever. There really is no excuse….**

"What exactly did you hear Ron?" Hermione asked, looking down at her plate, her face feeling hot.

Ron took the seat next to Hermione before answering. "Nothing of too much importance," he began, clearly taking his time, and enjoying the desperation that was etched all over Hermione's face. "Just that anyone who missed the opportunity to take their Apparition tests can do them next Saturday."

Hermione, who had lifted her goblet to take a sip of pumpkin juice, choked. "Oh, really?" She sputtered, trying to get her coughing under control and hide her relief at the same time.

"Yes, really." Ron answered. He looked across the table at Harry, who was watching the two of them as if it were a live tennis match, his eyes bouncing from one to the other.

"Well that's great." Hermione said. "Harry, that means you can take your test, and Ron, you can try again."

"Yeah, it's brilliant." Harry mumbled, his eyes still fixed warily on Ron.

"Yeah." Ron agreed, helping himself to mashed potatoes. "Oh, and I also heard about you and Malfoy holding hands." He added in an offhand voice.

Hermione and Harry froze, staring at each other, each saying "Bloody hell!" with their eyes.

Hermione was the first to speak. "So, let's hear it then, Ron. Are you going to scream? Call me names? Curse me? Jinx me?"

"What if I am?" Ron countered angrily. "You're making a fool of me."

"Then I say, get it over with. I'm tired of this, Ron, treading warily through each conversation, afraid one misstep of mine will make you upset." Hermione hissed. "When am I going to be allowed to live my life the way I want to live it? When am I going to be allowed to be happy?" She stood, gathering her things. She took a few steps, and then turned back. "I'm sorry for what I did to you, Ron, truly I am. And I still value your friendship. But what sort of friend are you to wish me such misery?" And before allowing Ron to respond, Hermione ran out of the Great Hall. She didn't stop until she was 3 floors away, to where she finally slowed to catch her breath.

She felt exhilarated. She didn't know where all of the words that had come tumbling out of her mouth had come from, but she was glad she had said them, for she meant every one of them.

Watching Hermione storm off, Harry felt proud. She was finally learning to stick up for herself in a way that he never thought she would have. He looked at Ron with a big grin on his face.

"What are you smiling about?" Ron asked, looking somewhat murderous.

"I'm smiling because Hermione just told you off." He responded.

Ron growled in response.

This made Harry laugh, which elicited an angry glance from Ron. "Oh come on, mate! You've got to let this go!"

"I can't!" Ron shouted.

"Why not?" Harry asked. Before Ron answered, Harry continued, "Look mate, are you upset because Hermione and you aren't together anymore, or are you upset because she's now with Malfoy? Answer me honestly."

Ron waited a full minute before speaking. "Honestly… I think it's more because she's with Malfoy. Don't get me wrong, I miss being with her, especially at certain times," he added, giving Harry a suggestive look, "but the fact that she chose him over me is making me want to tear my hair out." He paused. "And the fact that YOU," he looked pointedly at Harry, "are so okay with it all makes it even worse."

Harry sighed. He thought hard before he spoke, to ensure that the right words were going to come out. "Mate, first of all, if it's any consolation, I don't think Hermione chose Malfoy over you. Sometimes these things just… happen. You can't always control whom you fancy. Second," he continued, "I'm not _that_ okay with it, but I just want to see Hermione happy, no matter whom she wants to be with. And I'm sorry if that makes you act like a complete nutter but that's how I feel."

Now it was Ron's turn to sigh. "I should probably go and speak to her, shouldn't I?"

"Give her the night to cool off." Harry answered. "Or else she might send those yellow birds shooting after you again."

Ron winced at the memory. "Good point…."

Out of nowhere, Ginny appeared, plopping down next to Harry, making both of the boys jump.

"What's got you two so jumpy?" She asked, laughing a little and giving Harry a quick kiss.

"Oh, just wait until I tell you…" Harry begins.

Hermione wasn't alone in the hallway for long.

She didn't hear him approach. She was pacing, looked up, and there he was, leaning casually against an archway.

"Feel better?" Draco asked, smiling a little.

Hermione gave him a big grin. "Much." She ran (well… more like flitted) across the hallway and threw her arms around him. His arms found their way to her waist, and he gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"I'm very proud of you." Draco said, leaning his forehead against hers.

"Thanks." Hermione whispered back. "I hope it'll all do some good."

"It really bothers you, doesn't it?" Draco asked, pulling back so that he could get a better look at Hermione's features. He had to admit, she was breathtaking by moonlight.

"Yes, it does." Hermione responded. "I know that you might not understand what it's like, but Ron is still very important to me. We've all been through so much…" she trailed off, caught by the haunted look now etched upon Draco's features. "What's wrong?"

Draco shook his head, his soft blonde hair swaying a little with the motion. "It's nothing."

"It's not nothing." Hermione argued. "Tell me." She added in softer tones.

"It's just…" Draco broke off, trying to find the words. "It's just that I feel wretched about everything that's happened over the past couple of years. I feel like I was a major contributor to your suffering and-"

"Stop." Hermione said, interrupting him. "Don't torture yourself over things that have already happened. It's the past. We wouldn't be here today, right now, if those things hadn't of happened."

"But what if you had gotten hurt?" Draco asked pleadingly. "What if, when you were in the Manor house, that something had happened… that things went too far… that the house-elf didn't show up when he did…."

"Draco," Hermione whispered, drawing his hands from around her waist, and clasping them between her own. "I'm fine. Harry's fine. Everything worked out. You can't torment yourself this way, for my sake. I can't stand to watch you."

Draco squeezed his eyes shut, and to Hermione's horror, she saw tears there. She shook his hands, "Draco!" He opened his eyes, looked hard into hers, and before they both knew it, they were kissing more deeply and more passionately than they ever had before.

Hermione was scared of the rush of feelings that accompanied this kiss. She hadn't realized the depth of them nor how long she had been harboring them. This made her twist the fingers of her right hand into his hair even more firmly, while her left hand and arm pressed into his back, forcing him closer to her.

They stumbled together against the rough, cold, stone wall. Draco delicately traced the outline of Hermione's hips with his fingers, his greediness and need for her breaking him to the point where he grabbed and pulled the robes bunched at his hands towards him so that he could be closer to her.

Suddenly, Draco broke the kiss. "We need to go somewhere." He stated, his voice rough with longing and his eyes shining.

Hermione looked back at him, her lips pink and slightly swollen. "Yes we do." She agreed.

"The Room of Requirement?" Draco suggested.

Only one word needed to pass through Hermione's lips, and she found that word without effort.

"Yes."

The thick carpet muffled the sounds of their footsteps running down the hall. Elsewhere, students were finishing up their dinner, worrying about homework, or the latest gossip. The ghosts flitted from here to there without worry. Professors prepared the next day's lessons.

But Hermione and Draco ran as if their lives depended on it, as if their existence would end if they were not together, and soon.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: As per usual, I own none of this, and J.K. Rowling owns it all!**

**And thanks to all of you who are still reading and reviewing, no matter how long it took me to get some of these chapters done!!**

Ron, Harry, and Ginny made their way back up to the common room after they had finished dinner. They walked slowly, completely at ease, for which Harry was grateful. He took Ginny's hand in his own and swung it between the two of them, just slightly. It was enough for her to look at up at him and grin, which he returned.

"Would you two knock it off?" Ron muttered.

"What?" Harry asked.

"We weren't doing anything Ron." Ginny retorted. "Is it suddenly a crime to hold hands?"

"It should be." Ron replied.

Ginny and Harry groaned. "Are we ever going to be beyond this?" Harry asked, more to himself than to the other two.

Ron turned slightly red. "Sorry. It's going to take some getting used to."

Ginny looked exasperated. "What are you talking about, Ron? Harry and I dated two years ago, remember?"

"Not you two!" Ron said a little loudly. "I'm talking about the whole couple thing in general. It's going to be tough to be the only sop who is not in one."

Ginny looked sympathetic for around 5 seconds before she apparently came to her senses.

"Stop being pathetic, Ronald." She scolded. "Don't measure your worth based on who you are or aren't with. Otherwise you'll end up a prat."

Ron stared in stunned silence while Harry gave Ginny a squeeze, saying, "That's my girl."

"Since when are you a psychiaotri-y person?" Ron asked.

"I'm not." Ginny answered. "But, in case you forgot, I'm a girl. And girls can spot a sap like you from miles away."

Harry laughed. "It's not funny Harry." Ron stated, frustrated beyond belief.

"Like hell it's not." Harry chuckled. "She's spot on about you, mate. Can't deny that."

"Ugh!" Ron threw his hands up into the air. "Piss off, both of you." And having had his last word, Ron stormed ahead, going around the bend in the corridor and out of sight.

"Whew! I thought he'd never leave." Harry said jokingly, pulling Ginny to a stop and wrapping his arms around her waist.

Ginny put her arms around Harry's neck. "You know, some girls might think that this means that you want to be alone with me…" She trailed off suggestively.

Harry bent down. "Now where did you get that impression." He breathed against her lips.

Ginny smiled, and kissed him lightly, just once. "I have no idea… But shut up now. We have other things to discuss." She smiled devilishly at him before bringing his lips to hers.

************************

Ron made his way up the staircases, without paying much mind to where he was going. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he just be happy for his two best friends? Harry and Ginny were…. Well, he didn't want to think too hard about the two of them. And Hermione and Malfoy….

All right, maybe he didn't want to think too much about them either.

He was thinking so hard that he barely noticed that he was passing the wall that held the entrance to the Room of Requirement. He thought he heard the soft scraping of stone, as if a door was melting, but his curiosity was not enough to keep him from stopping or even slowing his pace.

Yes, yes. He'll talk to Hermione tomorrow. He'll smooth things out. Things will get back to normal. He'll move on. He could concentrate on school. On his family. Yes, that'll work.

Slightly comforted by these thoughts, Ron left the hallway behind, but not without thinking he had heard a girlish giggle come from somewhere close by. He shrugged it off. Whoever it was, it was not his concern.

**************************

Draco and Hermione were barely able to concentrate on opening the Room of Requirement, let alone getting inside. As they shut the door, Hermione opened her eyes enough to take in the room.

It was lovely. A large four-poster canopy bed stood to one side of the room. A large fireplace with a roaring fire was against the back wall, in front of which stood a coffee table and a plushy couch. There were pictures on the walls and rugs on the floors, and altogether, it made for a very cozy look.

Hermione's hormones subsided slightly, allowing her nerves to take control. She carefully extricated herself from Draco's embrace, and walked slowly towards the fireplace. Draco followed her.

"Alright?" he asked.

She turned and smiled at him. "I'm fine," she answered, "just a little overwhelmed, is all."

"Don't worry." Draco whispered in her ear. "I'll take care of any problems that you're having."

Hermione shivered involuntarily and took a deep breath. _That's what I'm afraid of,_ she thought. Outwardly she said, "I know you will," and gave him a big smile.

Draco stepped back from her, and took her hand in his, leading her over to what Hermione thought to all of a sudden be a GIANT bed. She wondered how she could have been so bold in the hallway and so timid now. Where had all of her courage gone?

Draco urged her to sit on the bed next to him. He took her hand and placed it palm-side up in his hand, and began tracing the lines on her palm with his fingers.

"That tickles," Hermione breathed. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing really." Draco replied. "Just taking a look at your life-line."

"You can read palms?" Hermione asked, skeptically.

"Absolutely not." He chuckled softly. "It's just an excuse to touch you a little more."

On those last few words, Draco's eyes found hers, and they sat gazing for a few minutes. _Those damn eyes_, thought Hermione. _One day they're going to get the best of me._

Still keeping his eyes open, Draco leaned in and kissed her softly on the mouth. He smiled slightly. "Are you ready?" He asked, slowly, putting so many of his feelings into the question that he wasn't even quite sure all of what he was asking.

Hermione didn't answer at first, just shyly slid his school robes off of his shoulders. "I think so." She whispered.

Draco didn't say anything to this, just put his hands on her shoulders, and mimicked her, removing her outer school robes. Her hands shook slightly as she reached to unbutton his white shirt. He put his hands over hers to steady them, looking deep into her eyes before he started kissing her cheeks and the creamy white skin of her neck.

Hermione's breathing came faster now as she slipped Draco's shirt off and he started on the buttons on hers. She took the time to admire Draco's torso. She had never seen him without a shirt on before, and was pleasantly surprised by how muscular he was; not beefy, but lean. She ran the back of her hand first down the center of his chest and then on to his pectorals, letting her fingernails scrape slightly against his nipples. His sharp intake of breath let her know that he was enjoying this.

Draco slid Hermione's shirt off and enjoyed seeing how her skin was slightly flushed from excitement. He softly kissed her shoulders as his hands gently caressed her back, enjoying the softness of her skin. Her breathing came even fast as he slid her bra straps down her arms and scraped his teeth along her shoulder blade. He reached behind and carefully unhooked her bra, letting it fall to the floor. His mouth found hers again as he methodically ran his hands up her back and then to the front, his right hand cupping her breast. They leaned together back onto the soft pillows, Draco slowly lowering her head until it hit the bed before stretching out on top of her.

They were both breathing heavy. Draco's hands stroked the length of her torso, while hers enjoyed the feel of the muscles in his back. He brushed the hair out of her eyes before lowering his lips to hers for a quiet kiss.

"I love you." He murmured against her lips, both of their eyes shut.

Hermione's eyes snapped open. She froze.

Draco noticed. He pulled away from Hermione's face onto his arms and stared down at her. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "Are you alright?" He asked.

"I'm sorry," she squeaked, "but what did you just say?"

"I said, 'I love you'," he answered, "or did you not hear me?"

Hermione sat up, gently shoving Draco until he was next to her as opposed to straddling her. She felt exposed, naked. She leaned over the side of the bed and grabbed a shirt, she wasn't sure if it was his or hers, and clutched it to her chest.

"No, I heard you." She responded, her voice shaking a little.

"And?"

"And, what?" Hermione asked, feigning confusion.

"And what do you have to say about that?"

Hermione gulped. She felt dizzy, light-headed, and nauseous. "I don't know." She whispered in response.

"You don't know?" Draco asked, starting to become visibly upset.

"I'm sorry, but I don't." Hermione said helplessly. "What would you like me to say?"

"I think if the response to 'I love you' isn't obvious enough, then I don't know what to tell you." He responded, trying to disguise the hurt that he felt deep in his heart.

"It's just…" she began, "this is all happening so fast, don't you think? I mean, how could you possibly know enough about me to be in love?" She finished lamely.

Draco put his head in his hands and rubbed his face hard. "You're unbelievable."

Now it was Hermione's turn to get upset. "What do you mean?" She fired back.

"I mean that only you would let your head get in the way." He stated. She gave him a clueless look. "You think too much!" He shouted, trying to get through to her.

Hermione's face grew redder. "Oh really? Is that what you _**love**_ about me then?"

Draco got off the bed and stood looking down at her. "How dare you mock me!" He yelled.

Hermione rolled off to the other side of the bed. "I'll mock you if I want to, Draco Malfoy." She put the shirt that she was holding on properly, putting buttons through the buttonholes. "You will never have control of what comes out of my mouth."

"And don't I know it," Draco mumbled to himself, mimicking her voice.

"I'll take that as my cue to leave then." Hermione cut in, grabbing up her robes and storming to the door. "Thanks for this very _special_ evening." She said sarcastically.

Draco responded by throwing the shirt he was holding at the door, as it swung close.

"Bloody hell." He spat out. _That woman will drive me to distraction_, he thought. _So much for the romantic evening I had in mind_. _I guess that's what I get for talking about stupid things like feelings. _

He walked towards the door and picked up the discarded shirt. Only as he tried to put it on did he realize that the shirt belonged to Hermione. Inadvertently, he smelled it.

It smelled just like her.

It took every ounce of his will power not to tear the shirt in half.

**Thanks again for reading! I won't be able to update for a few days, so patience please for the next chapter! Hope you enjoyed this one!! **


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I own none of this, as per usual, and J.K. Rowling owns it all! **

It was no surprise that Hermione couldn't sleep again that night. At this rate she was going to start resembling a raccoon.

After she had left the Room of Requirement, she had noticed that she was in fact wearing Draco's white shirt instead of her own. She would never admit it out loud, but she had clutched it the entire night, inhaling his scent as if it were the most exotic cologne ever produced.

Why had she freaked out? Didn't she want him as much as he wanted her?

The answer to that question was yes, but the fact that he had said he loved her had shaken her to her core. How could he possibly be in love with her? This… thing that they were doing had only gone on for a few short weeks, yet he was confessing feelings far beyond the scope of her imagination.

And what about her feelings? Hermione had spent most her sleepless night trying to sort them out. Did _she_ love _him_? In trying to examine her own feelings about Draco, she compared them to her feelings about Ron and Harry. She loved both of the latter two. But neither of them gave her butterflies in her stomach. Harry and Ron didn't make her pulse race or her mouth go dry.

Maybe it was lust? Maybe once the chase was finished, when Draco finally had her, then he would lose interest. That's always the way it went in those cheesy Muggle romance novels. Only in special cases did the girl end up keeping the guy. And was she the kind of girl that the guy stuck around for?

The feminist part of her brain really hated that she was having these thoughts. Hermione had always prided herself on being the kind of girl that didn't a guy to complete her. Since when did she become THAT girl?

She was interrupted by Harry's voice.

"Oi! Hermione! You coming to breakfast or what?" He yelled up the staircase.

Hermione groaned and pulled herself out of her four-poster. "Yeah, I'll be right down!" She called back.

She hastily pulled on her school robes, splashed some water on her face, and ran a brush through her bushy hair before putting it in a ponytail. She ran down the stairs and almost into Harry.

"Whoa!" He cried. "No need to run me over."

"Sorry," Hermione said breathlessly. "I thought you were in a hurry."

"Not really." Harry smiled devilishly. "I just like to make people rush."

"That's not very nice." Hermione scolded him.

"Nobody said that I was nice." Harry laughed.

Hermione swatted his arm. Harry looked at her face, worry replacing the humor that was there a second before.

"Are you alright?" He asked. "You look like crap."

"Gee thanks, Harry. You sure know how to make a girl feel pretty." Hermione snapped, and not very cleverly concealing a yawn.

"Oh please. As if you've never said to me, 'Harry you look like complete garbage'?"

"Fair point." Hermione agreed.

When she stared at the floor and didn't continue, Harry bumped her shoulder with his. "So are you going to tell me what's wrong, or do I have to guess? And you know how much I love guessing games…"

"I don't want to talk about it." Hermione said.

"Well that's a shame, because I'm going to make you talk about it." Harry countered.

"You can't make me do anything." Hermione said grumpily.

"Wanna bet?" Harry challenged.

Hermione made a sound of frustration. "I really hate you right now."

Harry threw his arm around her shoulder. "No you don't."

"Fine." Hermione acquiesced. "Last night, Draco and I wound up in the Room of Requirement, and things started to get a little, well, intense, and…"

Harry froze. "Stop right there, Granger." He began. "Please don't tell me that you and bloody Malfoy had… relations! I don't think I could stomach listening to the fine points."

Hermione smacked him on the chest, hard. "Harry! You wanted me to tell you all the bloody particulars, and now, you don't want to hear them? You're such a hypocrite!"

"On that subject, yes I am. You're like my sister! Can't you just give me a general sense of what you argued about? Without all the sordid details? Please?" Harry pleaded.

"Well, for your information, nothing went that far. Right as things were getting… interesting, Draco said something completely and utterly crazy."

"What did he say?" Harry asked, his eyebrows raised.

"He said…" Hermione began. "He said… He said that he loved me."

Harry's mouth literally dropped open at the sound of those words. He didn't speak for a full 15 seconds. "Are you serious?" He managed to squeak out.

"Yes." Hermione responded. "He's a bloody fool."

"That's a bit soon to be saying something like that, isn't it?"

"Thank you!" Hermione cried, her voice conveying her sense of relief. "That's what I told him!"

"Oh, you actually told him that?" Harry asked, looking very surprised.

"Of course I did." Hermione defended. "What? Are you saying that I shouldn't have?"

"No…" Harry trailed off.

"Well then, what are you saying?" Hermione demanded.

"I'm just saying that boys are more sensitive than you may think."

"What?"

"It's exactly what I said. We're sensitive, even if we don't always show it. You telling Draco that he's crazy was like cutting off his balls and shoving them down his throat." Harry explained.

Hermione helplessly cast her eyes around the common room. "Well that's just great." She muttered, more to herself than to Harry. "What should I do?" She asked.

Harry sighed. "I think it's pretty obvious what you need to do."

"Brilliant." She grumbled. "Nothing like eating shit for breakfast."

Harry laughed, and then turned serious once again. "Can I say something to you without having you jump down my throat?"

"That depends on what you're going to say…" Hermione responded.

"It just seems that you spend a lot of time being upset lately, and I think it all stems from becoming closer to Draco."

"Are you saying that Draco is no good for me?" Hermione asked, an edge creeping into her voice.

"No, not at all." Harry replied. "Although he wouldn't be my first choice."

"Then what is it?"

"I think you're becoming touchier as he gets closer, maybe as a means of pushing him away." Harry suggested.

"Do you?" Hermione asked quickly, as she felt the heat flood her cheeks.

"Yes."

"What else do you think, Harry?" Hermione asked snappishly.

"I think you're afraid." He answered simply.

Hermione thought about that for a few moments before she responded. "I think you're right." She paused. "But I don't know how not to be."

Harry sighed and put his arm back around Hermione as he began to steer them toward the portrait hole. "I know love. But it's something that we've all got to learn how to do in order to be in these sodding relationships." Harry scooted through the portrait hole and Hermione followed him.

"Brilliant." Hermione mumbled as she stepped into the hallway. "Just brilliant."

* * *

_Why is she ALWAYS with Potter? _Draco thought as he saw Hermione and Harry enter the Great Hall. It was already going to be difficult to get her alone, but if her personal bodyguard was there, it was going to be doubly tough. Maybe he would have to **gulp**actually talk to Potter. That would be annoying. No, no, he would find her and talk to her alone. He had to make her see reason and that he wasn't a total fool.

He would do it right after he was done with breakfast.

Well… maybe he should wait until the morning break.

Yeah, that would work. He could corner her in the hallway or something.

Or maybe after lunch. When his blood sugar wasn't low.

Goodness, he sounded like his grandfather.

"Draco!"

He was shaken out of his reverie by Blaise and Pansy, looking at him in a strange and angry way.

"What?" He asked.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?!" Blaise yelled.

Draco looked down at the table in confusion and then back up at his two supposed friends. "Eating porridge."

"Like hell you are."

Draco furrowed his brow. "I'm sorry," he began, "but have we stepped into an alternate universe where porridge is no longer porridge? Because I'm fairly certain that's what I'm eating."

Blaise responded by knocking the porridge bowl off the table, splattering Draco's robes with the, apparently offensive, breakfast food.

"I'm sorry." Draco said, innocently. "Did I do something to offend you?"

"We heard a rumor this morning, Draco." Pansy sneered. "That you and the Mudblood are an item." She paused. "Is it true?"

Draco cleared his throat and stood up. He kept his voice at a low whisper. "Yes, that is right. But frankly, I'm surprised at the two of you. That WAS big news. _Last week_. I mean, I knew that both of you were a little thick, but honestly! And maybe if you both took your heads out of your asses, you'd see that all of that pure-blood nonsense is just that: nonsense! None of it matters anymore for Christ's sake! And I'm pretty sure that it never mattered to begin with!"

Blaise whistled and crossed his arms. "Oooohh how the mighty have fallen, Malfoy."

Draco was confused again. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you've officially lost your edge." Blaise said slowly, enunciating every syllable.

Draco leaned across the table so that he was closer to Blaise. "Frankly, my dear Zabini, I don't give a damn. You can bugger off. Both of you."

"Never thought I'd see the day when a Malfoy would go soft." Blaise teased maliciously.

Draco responded by pulling back his arm and punching Blaise dead in the face.

"What are you doing?!" Pansy screamed.

"Soft enough for you, sweetheart?" Draco asked sarcastically. Then he looked at Pansy. "And shut up, Parkinson, you pug-faced troll."

Blaise lay on the floor, some drops of blood spurting out of his nose. "You'll pay for this Malfoy." Pansy didn't add anything to this, save for a very dirty look thrown in Malfoy's direction.

Draco snorted then started to walk away. After about 10 paces he turned back, saying "Send me the bill then", before continuing on his merry way.

Draco smiled to himself as he left the Great Hall. If Draco could punch Zabini in the face, then he could undoubtedly handle a beautiful, stubborn, Muggle-born and her ridiculous protestations…

He didn't know if she had witnessed the little incident that just took place, but it would certainly reach her ears within the next few minutes if she hadn't (and who could've missed it?). And then in all likelihood, _she_ would search _him_ out. It was all coming together very nicely and not at all according to plan.

And believe it or not, he actually began to whistle as he walked up the staircase to his first class.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I own none of this, and J. K. Rowling owns everything!**

Just like he knew she would, Draco didn't have to wait long before Hermione caught up with him. It only took her until the end of first period before she tracked him down and cornered him in the hallway. Once he was successfully pinned to the wall, she hit him on the chest.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" She hissed. "Hitting people? Really? Have you completely gone mental?"

"I thought you would appreciate it if I defended your honor." Draco stated in his usual bored drawl.

"What I don't appreciate is violence." She said back to him. "Nothing gets accomplished that way."

"Really?" Draco countered, "Because I think that _everything_ gets accomplished that way."

"Well… you would." Hermione retorted lamely.

"Nice comeback, kid." Draco teased.

"I'm not a kid." Hermione said somewhat angrily.

"Well it's a better nickname that what Blaise and Pansy were calling you earlier. Which, by the way, is why I hit Blaise." Draco explained. "In case you wanted to know… or reward me."

"I didn't ask you to defend my honor, Malfoy." Hermione snapped. "So, you'll excuse me if I don't feel the need to reward you."

Malfoy gave her a searching look that made Hermione physically squirm.

"What?" She finally asked.

"Nothing." Malfoy replied. "Only it seems that _someone_ has their panties in a twist. Care to share why?"

"You only wish that you had any effect on my panties." Hermione said, blushing a little in spite of herself. "This conversation is over. I only came over here to begin with so that I could call you thick." She turned in order to walk down the hallway, but Draco grabbed her arm and whirled her back towards him.

"Not so fast, Granger." He whispered. "We have unfinished business."

"As I recall we left nothing unfinished." Hermione whispered back breathlessly.

Draco moved his head closer to Hermione's, mere millimeters from her mouth, and moved his lips back and forth in a teasing motion. He had the satisfaction of seeing her eyes flutter for a brief moment and hear her breath catch in her chest.

"Oh," he began, "I think we have quite a lot of loose ends to tie up…"

Hermione's eyes flew open and her hands went to Draco's chest. Before he knew it, he was on the opposite side of the hall, and she was giving him a wild, angry look.

"Are you forgetting what happened last night?" Hermione accused. "What you said? Because I sure as Merlin haven't, and you're not coming near me any time soon until I get a rational explanation."

"What are you talking about?" Draco asked, confused and angry. "What rational explanation could you want? I told you that I loved you, for Christ's sake! Love has no rational explanation!" At hearing that come out of his own mouth, Draco winced, and couldn't believe that he sounded like such a pathetic cliché.

"It's just not possible." Hermione retorted. "There is no possible way that you could love me. At least, not yet. So, what's your motive? Are you just trying to get into my knickers?"

Draco gave her an exasperated look. "Honey, if I just wanted to get into your knickers, they'd be on the floor already." When Hermione gave him a wide-eyed look, he continued, "Never underestimate my powers of seduction."

Hermione very well knew how strong these powers were, and she felt the subsequent blush spread over her entire body.

Draco stepped towards her. "I like it when you blush, Granger," he began. "It makes me want to investigate how much of your body turns that shade of red."

Hermione didn't think it possible, but her blush deepened. "Stop it Draco." She whispered, feeling slightly annoyed. "We're in the middle of the bloody hallway, for Merlin's sake."

Draco reached out and grabbed her by the tops of her arms and pulled her towards him. "I don't care if we're in the middle of the Great bloody Hall…" he whispered back before crushing his lips against hers.

It was as if Hermione had lost all of the bones in her body, like Harry had in his arm back in their second year. Her knees literally buckled, and to keep herself upright, she wound her arms around Draco's neck and upper torso. One of her hands went into his soft hair, while the other caressed his back.

She was just starting to find her rhythm when Draco suddenly broke off the kiss.

"Oh, I forgot," Draco began with a devilish glint in his eye, while Hermione stood with her mouth slightly open and her eyes wide. "You and I are supposed to be having a lover's quarrel. And those who quarrel certainly shouldn't be kissing in the hallway, now should they?"

Being too stunned to speak, the only way Hermione responded was by closing her mouth and crossing her arms across her chest. Draco smirked at her, and gave her arm a pat, as if they were simply good mates. "See you around, Granger." He began walking off, but paused long enough to call out over his shoulder, "We shan't be meeting like this again. At least, not until you've come to your senses." With that, he whistled off down the hallway, turned the corner and was out of sight.

Only then did Hermione realize that the entire hallway was silent, and every pair of eyes was on her, once again, blushing face. Finally she came to, and snapped at all of them, "Off with you! All of you! This is none of your business!" She grabbed her bag off of the floor (which she didn't even remember dropping), and hurried off towards the dungeon for Potions.

*********

"You alright?" Harry asked as Hermione dropped her things next to his at the table.

"I'm fine." Hermione placated him.

"Uh-huh." Harry grunted. "Then why does it look like you came to the dungeon via the jungle?"

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked, confused.

"You're a sorry sight, Granger." Harry laughed. "Your hair is all over the place and your face is all splotchy."

Hermione hurriedly ran her hands over her now disheveled ponytail, tightening the elastic around it. She also ran her cool hands over her face, trying to eradicate the redness that seemed to be permanently residing in her cheeks.

"So did you run into any animals on your safari?" Harry asked, with a big smile on his face.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "No," she answered. "No animals."

"What about slimy gits? Any of them?"

Hermione allowed herself a small smile. "Maybe one of those."

"A-ha!" Harry said triumphantly. "And what did the slimy git do?"

"The slimy git abruptly attacked me, then abruptly stopped attacking me, then abruptly ran off. " She confessed. "All in all, it was very abrupt."

"Sounds that way." Harry agreed, nodding his head. "And just like a slimy git to get you all excited and then not follow through."

Hermione groaned and put her head down on the desk. "I don't know what the hell I'm doing."

"Yes, that's obvious." Harry said bluntly. "But none of us know what the hell we're doing, so don't feel too upset about it."

"I don't know," Hermione countered, raising her head and turning towards him. "You seem to have things pretty well figured out."

Harry laughed loudly. "I put up a good front, mate, but I'm still as clueless as you are."

"So are you saying that all of the advice that you've been giving me lately is total bullocks?" Hermione asked.

Harry shook his head. "No."

"Then what is it?"

"It's what we all _should_ be doing. But no one has the stones to do act appropriately." He explained.

"And you think I do?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"I know you do." Harry said confidently.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I think it's misplaced." Hermione put her head back down on the desk. The cool stone felt good against her still flushed skin.

Harry leaned down to Hermione's level so she could hear his response.

"It's not misplaced." He whispered. "You just need to stop being so stubborn."

Hermione only gave a pitiful little laugh in response.

"I'm serious." Harry continued. "Once you realize what an ass you're being, and stop getting in your own way, you'll be golden."

Just then, Professor Slughorn came into the dungeon. Hermione sat back up and got out her quill, parchment, and potions book. She didn't respond to what Harry had said; didn't really want to in fact. Deep down, she knew he was right. She _was_ being an ass. The only problem was, she didn't know how to stop acting that way.

Maybe she just needed time. She grimaced at the thought. Time was one thing that she was pretty certain she didn't have a lot of. Draco wouldn't wait for her forever.

As she felt the pressure of that statement, she also felt a small drop of sweat roll down the small of her back. Hermione wondered whether she would ever feel physically normal again? Would she always be privy to these physical ailments that accompanied being with Malfoy?

If so, she was going to need some new robes. And stronger deodorant.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: I own none of this. J.K. Rowling is a goddess. And my apologies for not having updated this story in… a very long time. It's about time I tie up the loose ends!

XXXXXXX

Leaving the Potions dungeon, Hermione knew that she had to find Draco. Harry was right. She was being too stubborn for her own good.

But her efforts at locating that particular young man were foiled. She kept her eyes peeled for most of the day, but Draco did not show up to lessons or at meal times. Hermione was becoming more and more desperate. She wanted to talk with Draco before she lost her nerve, but being unable to find him was putting a serious dent in her resolve.

She didn't eat much at dinner, despite Harry and Ginny's insistence. Hermione was grateful that Ginny was speaking to her like a normal person again. She had missed her so much during their Horcrux hunt, and she didn't want anything as trivial as her choice of boyfriend to come between them.

Even Ron's spirits were up. Although Hermione knew that had more to do with her being miserable. If he had to suffer, shouldn't she have to suffer too?

She excused herself early and made her way towards the library. She had checked there during lunch, but wanted to check again before going back to the common room. She knew Draco wasn't in the habit of studying too hard, but it didn't hurt to look.

Again, her search was fruitless. Since she was unlikely to be allowed in to the Slytherin common room, Hermione headed towards the seventh floor, then thought better of it. She instead headed towards the Owlery. Some fresh air and scenic views would help clear her head.

She took her time, stopping occasionally to watch the inhabitants of the portraits go about their business. When she finally pushed the door to the Owlery open, she was surprised to find someone already in the room.

"Draco?" She asked.

He looked at her and smiled, his family's large barn owl perched on his arm. "There you are," he said, as if he had been expecting her all along.

"I've been looking for you all day." Hermione said, trying to keep her voice level. "Have you been up here all this time?"

"Pretty much." Draco said. "I had something I had to do."

"And what was that?" She asked.

"I had to send my family a letter." He said simply.

Hermione's heart beat faster. "And what, pray tell, were the contents of this letter?"

"I think you know." He said softly.

"And did you get a response?" She asked, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

"Indeed." He said, his face remaining expressionless.

"And what did it say?"

"Would you like to read it?" He asked, holding out a piece of parchment to her as his owl flew gently from his arm.

"Yes," she said, reaching for it. She unfolded it and realized her hands were shaking slightly. The contents read,

'_Draco,_

_Do what you must.'_

Hermione turned the parchment over, confident that there was something else written on the opposite side. But there was nothing there.

"That's it?" Hermione asked, shocked.

"You sound disappointed." Draco said softly, taking the letter from Hermione, folding it, and putting it in his pocket.

"I'm not!" Hermione exclaimed. "I'm just… surprised."

When Draco didn't reply, she continued, "I just expected more of an uproar, I guess."

"Would you feel better if this letter said something to the extent of, 'How dare you take up with a Muggle-born'?" Draco asked in his bored drawl.

"Honestly? No." Hermione answered. "It's just… I don't know." She finished lamely, not knowing what to say next. She hadn't expected this. She had been expecting a fight on all sides, not… tolerance. Or acceptance.

Draco sighed. "I keep telling you, Granger, that things are different now. You still don't understand, do you?"

"I think I'm beginning to." She answered softly. She went to him and put her hands on either side of his face. Her fingers traced the dark rings under his eyes and realized he hadn't been sleeping much either.

"I'm sorry." He murmured, touching her forehead with his own.

"Why are you apologizing?" She asked, confused.

"I've been pushing you. And I shouldn't have been."

"I'm the one who's sorry." She said. "I've been a stubborn ass, as Harry was only too kind to point out to me earlier today."

Draco sighed again, a hint of annoyance coloring it. "Why do we always end up talking about Potter?"

Hermione laughed quietly. "I'm sorry. But he's been my only ally the past few weeks."

Draco's hands went to Hermione's shoulders, and then burned a path towards her hands, still cradling his face. He held them in place. "I understand. I'm just giving you a hard time."

She smiled. "Still?"

"Old habits die hard."

He kissed her, lightly at first, and then increased the pressure. All thought fled from Hermione's mind as her body flooded with sensation. Draco's arms reached around her waist, and suddenly, she found herself hoisted in the air. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he carried them to the only chair in the room. He sat with her straddling him. His lips moved to her neck while his hands removed her outer school robes.

"Your heart is pounding." Draco whispered, breaking his lips away from her neck. He sounded as breathless as she felt.

She placed her hand over his heart. She could feel it beat out a rhythm that rivaled her own. "So is yours," she whispered back.

He lifted his hand and brushed her hair over her ear. His finger trailed down her neck and continued down her spine. Her thin blouse didn't do much to shield her from his touch. She shivered. His hand ventured under her shirt, caressing her bare skin.

She ached for him to touch her more, but he made no move to resume his oral exploration of her neck. He looked deep into her eyes with a burning intensity.

"Have you thought any more about what I said the other day?" He asked.

Had she _thought_ about it? "Of course I have." She answered.

"And do you have a better response now than you did then?"

Hermione was distracted as his other hand had snuck up the front of her blouse and was gently cupping her breast. She suddenly wished that her bra would evaporate.

"I know what you want to hear," she began. "But I can't say it. Not just yet."

An inexplicable look came over Draco's face. "But do you think you're heading in that direction?" He asked, looking more vulnerable than Hermione had ever seen him.

"I… I think so." Hermione managed to stammer.

"What can I do?" Draco pleaded.

"What do you mean?" She asked breathlessly.

"What can I do to prove to you that I'm worthy? Worthy of you loving me?"

She searched his face. "You don't have to prove anything more to me," she whispered, cupping his cheek in her hand. "You've already done so much."

"Clearly it's not enough." Draco said. His eyes were downcast, and he had dropped his hands (unfortunately) from Hermione's body.

She grabbed his face roughly and forced him to look at her. "Draco, I just need a little time. That's not too much to ask for, is it?"

He exhaled loudly. "No, it's not." He paused. "I'm just… worried that you'll come to your senses soon, and leave."

Hermione gave him a small smile. "I think I left my senses in the dust. I wouldn't worry about them catching up," she joked. She brought her face very close to his. "Draco, I wouldn't be here right now if I didn't want to be. Stop thinking that you have to prove something to me, or that I've gone temporarily insane. I'm here. Right now. So let's just enjoy it, okay?"

His arms went back around her waist and he held her tightly against him. They didn't kiss or attempt to remove one another's clothes. But it was the most intimate moment of Hermione's life, sitting in the Owlery with Draco Malfoy, her hands stroking his hair, their hearts beating in synchronization.

Too soon he loosened his hold on her and drew her back so he could look up into her face.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked softly.

She nodded.

"Would you like to join me this weekend in Hogsmeade?"

She smiled. "Like… on a date?"

He smiled back. "Yes. Like a date."

She kissed him softly on the lips. "I'd love to."

XXXXXXXX

Thanks everyone if you're still reading! I swear, I'm going to finish this story before Christmas!


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: I own none of this! J.K. Rowling has claim over everything!

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The rest of the week practically flew by. Hermione saw Draco occasionally, but schoolwork and other commitments kept them busy. She was really looking forward to their date that Saturday. She didn't know what to expect and couldn't decide on what would be appropriate for her to wear. Ginny was a big help, stopping just short of slapping Hermione across the face, trying to keep her calm.

Saturday dawned bright and beautiful. It was one of those rare, late fall days, where the air was warm, but there was a bite in the wind that hinted that winter was coming. Hermione awoke just after sunrise, dressed quickly in the outfit that Ginny had approved and made her way to the common room. She was surprised to find Harry there, sitting in an armchair close to the fire.

"What are you doing up so early, Harry?" She asked.

He looked up at her and smiled. "Not much really. Just can't seem to sleep past dawn any more." He paused. "Actually, I just don't seem to be sleeping much any more..."

There was something about the look in Harry's eyes that made Hermione realize that maybe he wasn't handling all of the past year's stresses as well as they all had hoped. He seemed to realize this at the exact same moment.

"I'm fine, Hermione," he insisted. "Trust me."

Hermione sat in the armchair opposite him. "Are you sure, Harry?" She asked. "Because after all we've been through, it wouldn't be strange if you still had some… lingering effects."

"You sound like Ginny." Harry responded, dodging the comment.

"I'm serious Harry." Hermione said briskly. "You don't think that I don't get the nightmares too?"

"You do?" Harry asked, shocked.

"Yes." She replied. "Almost every night."

"How come you've never told me this before?" He demanded.

Hermione shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I didn't want to bother you with it, since you seemed to be doing so well."

"How could you possibly think that would 'bother' me?" Harry asked angrily. "You can always talk to me about anything. You've spent the past few weeks talking to me about Malfoy for Merlin's sake!"

"I know, Harry," she whispered. "But somehow… I thought that if I mentioned it out loud… that I acknowledged having problems… then it would just make it all worse. It would make it all seem so real again." She stared in to the fire as she found that she didn't have the guts to meet his eyes.

"You can't think like that, Hermione. The past is the past." He sighed. "Voldemort is dead, and for the first time in a long time, there is no threat of him returning. But if he haunts your thoughts… your dreams… then it'll be like he's still here. That he still has power over us."

"It's all so much easier said than done." Hermione stated.

"I know." Harry responded. "Believe me… I know."

"So what do we do?" She asked.

"Maybe we talk to each other about it?" Harry suggested. "Or talk to Ron, or Professor McGonagall, or Luna, or Neville? It only gets worse if we leave it all inside. I speak from experience here."

Hermione nodded. "That sounds like a good plan." She paused. "Thanks Harry."

"For what?"

"For saving me from that troll in our first year." Hermione shrugged and smiled at him. "And for being my friend ever since. For being like family. I often wonder what I would do without you."

"My guess is that troll probably would've killed you." Harry mused sarcastically.

"Right you are." Hermione agreed, laughing. "And you'd probably be dead as well. I reckon I've saved your life at least half a dozen times."

Now it was Harry's turn to laugh. "True!" He leaned forward in his armchair and reached toward her, his hand outstretched. She mirrored him, and grabbed his hand with one of hers. He squeezed her hand affectionately.

"I'd say something really sentimental now, but I don't want to sound too cheesy." Harry said and smiled, still clutching Hermione's hand.

"Well then let's not spoil the moment, shall we?" Hermione agreed.

"Agreed." He let go of her hand and fell back against the chair. "So what are YOU doing up this early then, Granger?"

"Oh nothing." Hermione said, blushing.

"Why are you blushing then?" Harry asked.

"Oh… I've got that silly date with Draco today in Hogsmeade." Hermione admitted. "I'm a little nervous, I guess."

"If it's any consolation, you look nice," he complimented. "Malfoy won't know what hit him."

"Thank you," she said. "I appreciate that."

"So do you think it's too early for breakfast?" He asked.

"Only one way to find out." Hermione pulled herself upright, and reached for Harry's hand to pull him to his feet. After doing so, Harry did not let go of her hands, but pulled her into a bear hug. She returned the hug enthusiastically.

"I love you, Hermione." He whispered. "I always have and I always will."

"I love you too, Harry." She whispered back. She pulled back. "Now, enough of this mushy crap. Let's go eat some toast."

He laughed. "Come on, Granger. I'll lead the way."

"You always do," she whispered and followed Harry out through the portrait hole.

XXXXXXXXXX

A few hours later, Hermione found herself walking nervously towards the Three Broomsticks. She was supposed to meet Draco for lunch, but she wondered how she was going to eat anything. Her stomach seemed to be so full of butterflies that surely there would be no room for Butterbeer.

She pulled open the door to the pub and immediately spotted Draco at a corner table. She zigzagged her way towards him as the place was already filled to the brim with Hogwarts students. He saw her and stood up as she approached. He kissed her on the cheek in greeting and held out her chair as she sat down.

"Well, aren't you the gentleman?" She teased as he took his seat opposite her.

"I'm just playing catch up." Draco retorted, giving her a wink.

Hermione smiled. "I haven't seen you much this week. How are your lessons going?"

Draco smirked. "Are we really going to talk about schoolwork?"

She was taken aback. "Is there something more pressing that you'd like to discuss?" She asked hotly.

"Yes," he began. "I just wanted to say how beautiful you look today."

Hermione could feel her face burn. "Thank you."

"Why are you blushing?" He asked.

Her cheeks flamed even more. "I don't know," she muttered. "Maybe it's because that's something I don't often hear."

He reached across and grabbed her hand. "Well it's something you'll be hearing from me _very_ often."

"Thank you," she responded shyly.

"And to answer your first question, my lessons were fairly uneventful. Unless you were in the class," he added quickly.

"And why does my being there make something more exciting?" Hermione asked, though she already knew his response.

"Because then I could just spend the time looking at you." He responded quietly.

His hand was still holding hers and he began to stroke her skin with the pad of his thumb.

"Are you hungry?" He asked.

"Not in the slightest." She responded quickly.

"Then let's get out of here." He suggested. He stood and took her with him. They headed out of the Three Broomsticks and on to the main road of Hogsmeade.

"Where do you want to go?" Hermione asked.

"Let's go to London."

Hermione playfully swatted his arm. "Be serious."

"I am serious." He replied, stone-faced. "There's something I need to show you. And it's in London."

"We can't go to London. For many reasons," she reasoned. "Mostly because we could be expelled. I think Professor McGonagall would consider London out-of-bounds, don't you?"

"Of course she would," he countered. "But I'll have you know that I got special permission from her to take you there."

"No you didn't."

"Yes I did."

"No you didn't."

"Yes, I did." He paused as the weight of Hermione's stare bore into him. "Alright, no I didn't."

She sighed in exasperation. "What's waiting for us in London? What's so important?"

He pulled her close to him. With one hand, he reached up and cupped her face. He traced the outline of her bottom lip with his thumb. Her breathing quickened ever so slightly.

"It's a surprise."

Despite herself, Hermione was intrigued. What made this surprise so special that Draco was risking expulsion?

"Come on, Hermione," he pleaded. "We'll be back before nightfall. We're both of age. We've both passed our Apparition tests. No one will ever know that we've gone."

She studied him seriously for a moment. "Is it really that important to you?"

"Yes." He stated simply.

"And you're positive that we won't get caught?"

"Well… not 100% sure, but pretty sure."

"I'd feel better about this if someone knew we'd be gone." She said.

"Who do you trust?" He asked. "Who would cover for us?"

She knew the answer immediately. "Just give me 5 minutes."

XXXXXXXXX

Harry was just coming out of Honeydukes, hand-in-hand with Ginny when Hermione spotted him.

"Harry!" She called loudly.

He turned and waved a greeting with his free hand. Ginny smiled at Hermione.

"Alright, Hermione?" She asked.

"Yes, thanks Ginny. You?" Hermione responded.

"Great, thanks." Ginny leaned in to Harry and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "You have that look on your face that says you want to talk to Harry alone, though."

Hermione shifted her weight uncomfortably. "I do need to speak with Harry, if that's alright."

Ginny laughed. "It's fine. I'll meet you in Zonko's," she said to Harry.

As she walked away, Harry turned towards Hermione. "What's going on?" He asked.

"I need a favor." She responded.

"Anything."

"I was hoping you'd say that," she replied, relieved. "Draco wants to take me to London for the afternoon and I need you to cover for me in case anyone notices I'm missing."

"To London?" Harry asked incredulously. "Are you mad? You could be expelled!"

"That's what I said! But look, Draco said that it was important."

"And you trust him?"

"I know it's sounds mental, but yes, I do." Hermione admitted.

Harry thought for a moment. "Then go. I trust you, and if you trust him… I'll cover for you in case someone notices."

Hermione yelped in glee. "Really Harry?" She jumped and hugged him. "You really are the best friend in the world."

Harry sighed dramatically. "I know. It's such a burden."

Hermione laughed. "I should be back before nightfall. If I'm not, then send out a search party."

Harry mock-saluted her. "Aye-aye Captain." His face drew serious. "Just be careful, alright?"

"I always am." She smiled.

"Then get the hell out of a here." Harry joked.

Hermione turned and practically skipped back to Draco's side.

"Potter says he'll cover for you?" He asked, taking Hermione's hand in his.

"He did," she replied.

"Then are you ready?"

"Yes," she said. "Yes I am."

XXXXXXXX

Thanks to all who are still reading! I think the next chapter will be the last!


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: I own none of this, and J.K. Rowling owns everything!

This is the final chapter! Thanks to everyone who stuck with the story!

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Hermione and Draco cautiously made their way to the end of the main road in Hogsmeade. They looked around carefully to make sure no one was watching, and then quickly clasped hands. She let Draco take the lead, since he knew where they were going. The unpleasant sensation of being squeezed through a pipe that is too small overwhelmed her. But soon, her feet hit hard earth.

She opened her eyes, expecting to see the hustle and bustle of London's streets, but instead her eyes rested upon a large manor house that looked all too familiar.

"What are we doing here?" She asked, panicking slightly. The last time she had been in that house, Bellatrix Lestrange had tortured her.

"I know, it's not London," he explained hastily, "but I didn't think that you would come here if I asked you flat out."

"You're 100% right about that one," she snapped angrily. "What the hell are we doing here, Draco?"

"You'll find out," he started softly, grabbing her hand.

She yanked it away from him.

Draco looked exasperated. "Come on, Granger. For Merlin's sake, nobody's going to hurt you in there."

"I have a hard time believing that," she muttered, more to herself than to Malfoy. Seeing the old manor house caused a wave of unpleasant and frightening memories to flood back. She knew Bellatrix Lestrange was dead, but the thought of entering the building where she had been tortured by that woman caused Hermione to break out in a cold sweat.

Draco put a soft hand on her shoulder. His thumb rubbed her sweater reassuringly.

"I know you're thinking about what happened last time," he said quietly. "But trust me; what's waiting for us in there is nothing bad. In fact, I think it's absolutely brilliant."

She threw him a skeptical look. "Are you serious?"

"I've never been more serious, Hermione." Draco replied honestly. "I won't do anything to hurt you. I swear on my life."

Hermione was touched by his words. Her stomach slowly started to unclench as she reached her hand towards his face and lightly stroked his cheek. She took a deep breath.

"Alright," she said slowly. "I'll go inside with you."

Draco's face lit up. He kissed her, quick and fierce. "Let's go," he said excitedly, grabbing her hand once more.

He began to pull her towards the house. She walked slowly and dragged her feet so he was practically tugging on her arm as they moved.

"What are you in such a hurry for?" She asked him playfully. "The house isn't going anywhere."

He looked back at her and laughed. "I just really want to show you what's inside." He tugged her forward so she was walking next to him instead of behind him. "I think you're going to love it."

Hermione was still doubtful. "Alright," she said. "If you say so. But you better move your ass!" She tore her hand away from his and sprinted towards the front door, as she laughed manically. When she got to the porch she stopped and turned to face him, panting heavily. He was giving her a strange look.

"Why didn't you just do this?" He asked, before disappearing and reappearing next to her with a _crack_ that sounded like a car backfiring.

She laughed. "Running is better exercise."

"But Apparating is quicker." He countered.

"And lazier." She grinned at him.

He growled. "Come on Granger," he said, grabbing the door knob and giving it a turn. "Let's go inside."

Hermione took another deep breath to steady herself. The house was just as she remembered – lots of stone, high ceilings, ancient furnishings. It practically reeked of old money and arrogance. She slapped herself mentally. _You're with Draco now, Granger_, she thought. _You have to stop thinking like that._

Draco led her down a hallway to a large sitting room. She was surprised not to find Lucius or Narcissa skulking in the hallways.

"Aright, wait here." Draco said excitedly. "I'll be right back."

"Okay," she said uncertainly as he dashed from the room, closing the door behind him.

Alone, she observed her surroundings with detached interest. Regardless of what Draco said, she felt uncomfortable. She wished that Harry were there with her. Or Ron. Or Ginny. Or anyone who would make her feel less strange in this cold, unwelcoming house. She still couldn't believe that Draco had grown up here.

She ran her hand over the horse-hair couch as her eyes drifted towards the window. She went to it and was examining the elegant tapestries when she heard the door open. Thinking it was Draco, she didn't turn away from the window. If he wanted her to be surprised, he was going to have to work for it.

"Hermione."

_That's funny_, she thought. _That doesn't sound like Draco. In fact, in kind of sounds like…_

She froze, her hand still on the tapestry. It couldn't be. It COULDN'T be.

Hermione would've stayed frozen for the rest of the day had Draco not come over to her. He put a hand on her waist, causing her to jump.

"I think I'm hallucinating." She whispered frantically to him.

"No you're not," he said reassuringly. "Now turn around."

With his hand guiding her, time seemed to slow as she turned. She kept her eyes to the floor, not daring to hope in case she really _was_ hallucinating.

"Hermione," the voice said again. "Look at me, Hermione."

She dragged her eyes up from the floor to the face of her mother. A face that Hermione hadn't seen in almost 18 months. And standing next to her, with an indescribable look on his face stood her father.

"You know who I am?" Hermione whispered, terrified of the answer.

"Of course we do, sweetheart." Her father answered.

Hermione didn't know how it happened. One second she was standing with Draco, and the next, she was in her mother's arms, holding her so tightly she thought her mother might suffocate. She felt her father's arms go around both of them, holding on just as closely.

Hermione's face was buried in the crook of her mother's neck, and the tears flowed freely.

She didn't have words. All the months of worry, the dread, the panicking all washed away as she sobbed openly. She could feel both of her parents crying as well.

How long the three of them stayed in their embrace, she couldn't say. But when they finally broke free, the questions started coming out of her mouth so quickly they tripped over each other. But even while she word-vomited all over them, she kept both of their hands clasped in her own.

As to how they were found and their memories restored was attributed to Draco, they told her. As it turned out, when they got to Australia, they lived peacefully for a while on a sheep farm. But soon, both of them began having vivid dreams of their life back in England, and in particular, of a young woman.

"Me?" Hermione asked.

Her mother smiled. "Yes. Although we didn't realize at the time that you were our daughter."

"I guess you were just too special to forget," Draco whispered in her ear.

Hermione rolled her eyes at the corniness of the statement but was too happy to shoot back a snappy retort.

"So what happened? Because when I went to find you, you had gone." Hermione asked hastily.

"We left, in hopes that we would find you." Her father answered simply.

"But you didn't." Hermione said softly. "Where did you go?"

"All over Australia." Her mother explained. "For some reason, we knew that we couldn't leave the continent. That we had to stay there, or else we would be in danger."

"I'm so sorry, mum." Hermione said tearfully. "But that was part of the spell I put on you. And you were right! I didn't want you coming back to England. The Death Eaters would've come looking for you, I'm sure of it."

Her mother clasped her hand comfortingly. "It's alright, Hermione."

"So how did you end up back here?" She asked.

"I think I can answer that," Draco chimed in. "When you told me about your parents and what had happened to them, I sent out a few owls to some contacts of mine in Australia. Some of them in the Ministry of Magic."

"You have contacts in the Australian Ministry?" Hermione asked, surprised.

Draco grinned. "Sometimes it pays to be well connected."

Hermione groaned, which made him laugh.

"Anyway, I explained to them the situation, and asked them to search."

"And they agreed?" Hermione asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Well some of them had to be… persuaded." Draco answered, not quite meeting her eyes.

"You mean, you had to pay them." She said simply.

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

"You are unbelievable." She said, annoyed. "Money can't buy you everything, you know."

"But in this instance, it helped," he offered rationally. "Now, do you want to hear the rest of the story, or not?"

"Yes," she grumbled.

"My Ministry contacts found your parents in Sydney, and took them their version of St. Mungo's. The Healers were able to reverse the effects of your spells, with some difficulty because it was a good bit of spellwork, but when I received notice that they were going to be alright, I arranged for them to come here."

"When did you get here?" Hermione asked her parents.

"Only this morning." Her mother answered.

"I just can't believe it." Hermione expressed. "I can't believe that you're here, and you're alright, and that you remember me…" she trailed off as she began to cry once more.

XXXXXXXXX

The light streaming in from the window began to fade to a dusky pink. Hermione knew that she and Draco had to return to Hogsmeade soon, but she was not anxious to have her parents leave her sight.

But Draco was two steps ahead of her.

"I've arranged for them to get lodging in Hogsmeade," he explained.

"What?" Hermione asked, shocked. "But only witches and wizards live in Hogsmeade."

"I've explained it to the village elders, and they agreed to the arrangement. For a short time, anyway," he added hastily. "It's not permanent, but they understand about you wanting to keep them close."

"Really?" Hermione breathed.

When Draco nodded, she whooped in delight, hugging both him and her parents again.

"Will they Apparate back with us, then?" She asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately no," Draco answered.

"We're getting escorted by some bloke named Kingsley." Mr. Granger explained jovially.

"That man had a lovely telephone voice," Mrs. Granger noted.

Hermione gave Draco another questioning look. He shrugged under her glare. "Kingsley said that if it was for you, then it wasn't a problem."

"You are unbelievable," Hermione said. She meant it in a good way though. No one had ever gone to such great lengths for her before, save for perhaps Harry.

"But we better get going," Draco suggested. "I wouldn't put it past Potter to try and get me expelled."

Hermione thought about that for a moment. "I wouldn't either," she agreed. She turned one last time to her parents. She hugged both of them fiercely.

"I love you," she told them.

"We love you, too," Mrs. Granger responded.

"I'll see you really soon." She promised. "Sooner than you might think."

"Alright, love," her dad said. "Travel safely."

"You too." Hermione said, taking Draco's hand. They walked towards the entrance to the drawing room again, but Hermione dashed back to give her mum and dad one last hug.

She was silent as they made their way down the long lane that led to the edge of the property. When they reached the end, Draco grabbed both of her hands and spun her towards him.

"Are you alright?" He asked, concerned.

Her face split in to a dazzling smile. "I've never been better," she answered. "I can't believe you did all of this. That you found them. For me, of all people."

"They're your parents, Hermione." Draco explained rationally. "They're important to you. That means they're important to me too."

She threw her arms around his neck, so happy and light she felt as if she might float away. She pulled away slightly to look him in the face.

"You said something to me, a little while ago," she began. "That I wasn't ready to hear."

Draco knew exactly what she meant. "And are you ready now?"

Hermione smiled. "Yes. Yes, I am."

"Then Hermione Jean Granger," he began slowly. "I just want you to know that I am in love with you. And I would do anything to make you happy."

Her cheeks felt flushed. Her heart was pounding a mile a minute. But her voice was steady.

"I love you, too."

XXXXXXXX

And that's all she wrote folks! Thanks so much for reading! This was my first ever fan fic, so I hope you enjoyed it!


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